Employee Benefits
by KayBressi
Summary: Bella lives and works with her best friend Alice. What happens when Bella falls for her boss, Edward?
1. Late

This is my first fan fiction.

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_beep beep beep_  
I groaned and rolled on my side, peaking at the alarm clock from beneath the covers. 6:30 A.M. I felt like I was in high school again. All my college classes took place atleast after noon. On the weekends, i had to wake up early for work.

I stumbled across the apartment half asleep. If i didn't wake up this early, I'd never get in the shower. Three girls and one bathroom always spelled trouble. The water was exilerating. I was quickly awake and singing to myself as i rubbed shampoo in my hair. I took a deep breath. Strawberry. My favorite.

After i got out of the shower, I dressed for work. Our work shirts were black t-shirts that had a white eight note in the corner on the front, and read **Cullen's Music Shop** on the back. Other than the shirt, there wasn't much of a uniform. I slid on a pair of old jeans and sneakers and inspected my room. The walls were a deep red with tan trim. My carpet was also tan. The comforter on my bed matched the walls. I didn't want my room gaudy or overly girly, so Alice had to deal-- Alice!

I ran from my room to the only other bedroom in the apartment, the one Alice and Tanya shared. I flicked on their bedroom light. "Time to wake up!"

I saw Alices head pop out from under the covers. "Ten more minutes, Bella!"

"Alice! It's already seven. We have to be to be there for eight. I'm not going to be late again because you can't decide on what to wear."

Alice scowled and crawled out of her bed. Alice was rich. She didn't even need to work, but she decided she'd find a job with me. Alice should rightfully have the one bedroom because her parents bought the apartment. Alice decided she'd share when Tanya gave her free reign of design.

I shuddered as i looked around their room. The walls were hot pink with yellow stripes of varying thickness. The carpet was yellow with a large hot pink rug, kind of like the carpet in my room. Besides the colors, everything was covered in sparkles.  
I thank god i gave Alice limits. I don't know how they slept without inhaling glitter.

Tanya was still deep asleep, so i gave her a nudge. Her eyes slowly opened.  
"Alice and I need to be at the music shop for eight. You need to be at Java Joe's for eight-thirty." I told her.

" Okay." she answered and began to get out of bed.

At first the three of us tried to get a job together, but it proved to be difficult. In the end, Alice and I got a job at a music store and Tanya found one at a coffee shop. I looked at Tanya's work uniform hanging on a fluffy pink chair. She had to wear a brown collared shirt, black pants, and flat black shoes. Lucky for Tanya, it didn't matter what she wore. She was absolutely beautiful. Tanya had long strawberry blonde hair that went almost all the way down her back. Her face was round, but cute. She had high cheek bones and bright grey eyes with long eyelashes. She was tall, about five ten and had killer abs.

Alice was gorgeous too. A lot about her was tiny, everything except her personality. Her black, spikey hair made her deep blue eyes and pale skin stand out. Alice was in college for design, and nothing could suit her more perfectly. She was in a long term relationship with a boy named Jasper. He didn't really say much, but there was no doubt in my mind that he loved Alice. I never met a guy more worthy of her.

Tanya switched boyfriends like she changed underwear. Her relationships almost never reached a week. There were only a few guys that ever made the week list. Alice and I call them The Weekers. Tanya just knows what she wants, and knows fast wether or not they can give that to her.

I haven't dated anybody in a while. I can't find anybody I want to be with. Besides, there will be plenty of time after college.

"So, what do you think?" Alice asked, shaking a denim skirt and a pair of tan Bermuda shorts in front of me.

I pointed to the tan shorts. She smiled. "I thought so too."

She ran out of our kitchen. She returned a little while later wearing the shorts and a pair of black wedges.

I glanced at my watch, 7:58. "Alice, _please_ say you're ready."

She grabbed her keys off the counter and we left the apartment. She ran across the hallway and pressed the elevator button. Our apartment was only on the second floor, so i didn't see a need to use the elevator. But, I had to use it when I went anywhere with Alice.

Alice looked great in her outfit. I examined my jeans and sneakers. _Oh well,_ I thought_, I don't need to impress anybody._

_We got out of the elevator and got in Alice's yellow Porche. I closed my eyes as it went to 80 mph. I didn't open my eyes til i felt the car come to a final halt. I glanced at my watch, once again as we got out of the car. It was 8:10._

"Great." I grumbled. "Late again!".

We were late for the third time, and we just started working a week ago. We opened the front door and walked into the shop.

We glanced around nervously. Thankfully, there was no one there except us.  
Alice smiled at me."We are safe!"

I sighed in relief.

That's when I noticed a door open across the room. "Or not..." Alice whispered.

I scowled at Alice. My eyes glared from her across the room where they met a pair of emerald ones.

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**review!!**


	2. Boss

Thank you to everyone who reviewed!  
Here's Chapter two.

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_My eyes glared from her acr__oss the room where they met a pair of emerald ones._

I took my gaze off his and let my eyes roam the rest of his face.

Gorgeous didn't even begin to cover it. He was pretty much a god. He had very strong facial features, and those deep green eyes are the kind a person could get lost in. His bronze hair was slightly disheveled. He had a perfect mouth. I practically lost my breath when his mouth curved into a lopsided smile.

I finally realized that i was staring like a loon. I dropped my eyes from his face to the ground in hope of hiding my embarassment. I glanced back up when I heard the footsteps nearing.

I tensed as Alice apologized for being late. Sure, this was the first time we got caught late, but I couldn't help but think that this man knew. We didn't even work the entire week. We worked five out of the seven days, and three out of those five we weren't on time. After taking the time to find a job, i didn't want to lose it so soon.

The man gave us a blinding smile. "Don't worry about it." He said. "The shop doesn't _really_ open till nine. We have you come in for eight to make sure everything is stocked and ready for when we open. Show up after nine, and we might have a problem."

He shoved his hand in his pockets and rocked onto his heels. "Oh, how rude of me. I have yet to introduce myself. I'm Edward" He pulled a hand from his pockets to shake ours.

"Alice" She said taking his outstretched hand.

He then extended the hand to me. "Be-Bella" I said shaking his hand.

"Okay. Well, I'm pretty sure my father, Carlisle, hired you two to help me out a little. I've been quite busy lately and haven't had much time to put towards the shop." he confessed.

Alice nodded and tilted her head to the side, "Does that make you our boss?"

Edward thought for a moment. "I think so? Techniqually my father hired you... He bought the shop, but I run it. He's almost never here."

"Well, we are at your service." I told him.

He chuckled. "One of you can open the register and the other can come with me."

Alice walked over to the register, which meant i would go with Edward. I would've rather opened the register than risk making a fool of myself.

"After you," he said as he opened the door.  
I walked past him into the room. I took a step forward. "Tha--" I began. I was too busy oggling at Edward that I didn't notice the large cardboard box in font of me. I tripped over the box. Great.

Just as I expected to hit the floor, I felt a pair of firm hands around my waist. I looked behind me at the pair of deep green eyes filled with worry. "Are you okay?" he asked.

I felt my blood rush into my cheeks. "Yes." His hands were warm. It felt nice to be in his arms.

No matter how much I didn't want him to leave go, I turned my head back to him. He quickly placed me upright. "Sorry. I kind of zoned out."

"No, no. Thank you. I would've fallen if you hadn't caught me."

He rubbed his hands together."Well, there's a box of albums in here that need to be put out there." He pulled a large box off the top shelf. "I'll carry it out for you, It's a bit heavy."

It didn't look to me like he was having any trouble with the box. He carried it from the back room to the shop and placed the box at an empty rack. He then turned back to me. "I have some calls to make, excuse me."

I watched him walk into the office. Once he closed the door, I position my arms around the box and tried to lift it. A bit heavy hardly covered it. _He must be strong,_ i thought to myself. Just then, Alice rushed towards me. "Did you see him?" she hissed. "You should so go for him."

I snorted. "Yeah right. He probably has a waiting line. Besides, He's my boss. It's unethical."

"_You never know..._" she said as she waggled a finger at me.

I rolled my eyes and started to place some albums on the rack. When I finished unpacking the box, I plugged in the neon Open sign. I decided to put the empty box back in the storage room. I sat behind the register next to Alice. The shop was pretty popular. I often saw people I knew from College there. After waiting on a few costumers, Edward's office door opened. "Alice, can you come here?" He called.

She got up and walked to the back._ Maybe it really did bother him that we were late...Maybe he was going to make an effort to find some more reliable workers_. I pushed the thoughts from my mind.

I Helped a few costumers and rearranged a few misplaced items. Finally, she emerged from the room.

She walked straight towards me. "Your supposed to go see him next."

"Why? Are we fired?"

"I don't think so. He just wanted to talk to me."

"About what?"

"Stop worrying and _go_!" She said as she pushed me in the general direction of the office.  
I stumbled forward a little and walked to the office, expecting the worst.

I opened the door a little wider and then closed it behind me. Edward looked up from his desk and smiled at me. "Hello, Bella."

"Hi."

" Bet your wondering why I called you in here."

"Sort of..." I lied. I didn't sort of wonder, I was _entirely_ curious as to why I was called in.

"As i said earlier when we met, my father hired you two. I didn't really have much of a say in it..."

Oh great. We were getting fired, I thought.

"So i wanted to take some time to get to know you and Alice."

Hm, we weren't getting fired. That was a relieving thought.

"Oh, okay." I answered.

" So, what made you apply for a job here?"

"I attend Forks University a little while away from here. Our apartment is really close to the campus, and we wanted to get a job that wasn't far from the two."

He nodded. "What are you majoring in?"

"English Literature."

"You like to read?"

"Love to."

He nodded again. "What do you like to read?"

"Pretty much anything, but i really enjoy Classic Literature. Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Brontë."

"I like the classics also" he said. "What else do you enjoy doing?"

Hm...Good question. "I enjoy doing calm, peaceful things. I don't really like to go shopping or partying, too crowded for my liking." this seemed to intrigue Edward.

"I know exactly what you mean... I should probably let you go help Alice. I enjoyed talking you though, we'll have to resume this some other time."

"That will be fine. Bye Mr. Cullen." I said as i left the room.

I returned to Alice. She looked at me curiously. "You were in there quite a while." she said accusingly

"Psht. I was barely in there for 5 minutes."

"Try ten."

"Really? Ten whole minutes! Oh my!" I told her sarcastically.

"Maybe not ten minutes, whatever. But you're deffinitely are interested."

"No, I'm not."

"Don't lie."

"I'm not."

And i wasn't lying. I didn't even know him. He was insanely good-looking and chivalrous, but i barely knew him. I wasn't really expecting to get to know him either. At least, not anymore than an employee should know her boss.


	3. Errands

_At least, not anymore than an employee should know her boss._

The rest of the day at work went by uneventfully. Edward didn't come back out of his office until it was time to close. When he did come out, he just told us not to worry about closing up. He said he'd get to it. So, Alice and I got to leave right at 5:00 P.M.

As soon as i got in Alice's car I was bombarded by questions.  
She turned straight towards me in her seat. "So what did he ask you about?"

"Why I wanted to work there, what i was going to college for, what I liked to do in my spare time. Little questions like that. Why?"

"Although you claim not to be interested, I can't say the same for him."

"Oh, please. Just worry about driving." At that comment, The light changed from green to yellow, which Alice just sped on through. I shot her the stink eye.

"I'm sorry, but don't comment on my driving."

"Fine."

"What are we going to do when we get home?"

" I don't know about we, but I am going straight to sleep. Today was a long day."

"Whatever. Tanya and I will go do something. But, you're mine tomorrow after work."

Oh jeez. Tomorrow was Sunday, which meant we had to get up early for work again. The only good thing about it was that we get off at three on Sundays. That meant even more time to put towards whatever crazy things Alice had planned.

Alice pulled her car in front of our apartment and parked. We got in the elevator and up to our floor. I kept my word and went straight to sleep.

I awoke to my alarm clock once again. I really couldn't believe that I slept from five in the afternoon til six in the morning, but apparently I had. I must've been worn out.

After getting my shower and waking up Alice and Tanya, i decide i was going to try and do something nice with my hair. I straightened my long brown locks and put on a little mascara. When Alice emerged from the shower, I did something I thought I'd never do.

I held out denim shorts and a pair of tan capris. "Which one?"

Alice pursed her lips and dragged me in her closet. She grabbed a white skirt and a pair of black healed flip flops. My eyes widened when she placed the outfit in my arms.

"No, no, no." I tried to hand her the outfit back.

She thrust it back at me. "You asked my oppinion, and now you're going to wear what I pick out."

Well, I actually asked her oppinion between the two bottoms I had... but I wasn't about to try and explain that. I groaned as she made me put on the skirt and heals. I could hardly walk in flat shoes!

And just when i thought i could leave, she pushed me down in a chair. She pulled out a make up bag from the closet, and that's when I promised myself I would never ask Alice unless it was a dire emergency.

After quite a while in the hands of Alice, we were ready to leave. Today when we got to the music shop, we weren't that late. Only by a minute or two.

Edward met us at the door, holding it open for us as we passed. I gave him a half-smile. "Thank you."

He returned my smile with five times the enthusiasm.

"Anything special on the agenda today?" Alice asked.

"Actually," Edward began, "I was hoping one of you could accompany me. I have a ton of errands to run for the shop. We probably wouldn't return til after three, but I'd pay you for the extra hours."

Alice nodded. "Well, I'm sure Bella would go with you." I gulped. What? Did she just say...

"You would?" Edward asked.

"Um..Sure." I told him nervously

"Wonderful. My car is out front." He said as he led me back to the entrance.

Edward pointed to a shiny silver Volvo."That one." He walked with me around the side to open the door for me.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

After closing my door, he got in on his own side and put the key in the ignition. "We'll be making quite a few stops today. We have to pick up some items, deliver a few, and my father wants me to stop up. He has a few things for the shop, also."

"Okay, well where to first?"

He grabbed two lists from his pocket. "Wal Mart" he said with a chuckle. Even though I wanted to know what for, I didn't ask. I would find out soon enough.

After a couple minutes of awkward silence, Edward cleared his throat. "So, is it a problem if you aren't back at three?"

"Not really, but I'd need a ride home some how. Alice will be out of there at three on the dot, and she drove me here. We're roommates, so there isn't a reason to take separate cars."

"Well after we're done, I could drop you off."

"That will be fine then."

There was another moment of awkward silence, but I broke it this time.

"So, you said we're going to see your father?"

"Yes. I take it you met him when he hired you?"

"Actually, no. There was a help wanted sign in the window with a number at the bottom. I called the number at the bottom, gave my address, and i was sent an application through the mail. A couple days after I filled it out, I sent it to the return address. Then, i got a call and the man on the phone told me that Alice and I got the job. I never met with anybody in person."

He laughed. "Well, that's my father for you. He doesn't live that close by, but I would've expected him to actually meet with you guys before he hired you." He smiled. "But it doesn't seem like he made a bad choice."

His smile made my heart skip a beat. I looked away from him back to the road. Wal Mart was in view now. He parked the car and got out. He made a move to try to get around and open my door, but I opened it myself before he got there. I liked the fact that he was a gentleman, but that didn't mean I couldn't open my own door. He didn't seem to mind that I thwarted his plan. He just continued to walk towards me so we could walk in together.

He pulled out one of his lists again. He handed the list to me. "I barely ever shop. Do you have an idea where we could find these things?"

I glanced over the list. It read:  
_**I need...  
Coffee Maker  
Mini Fridge  
Soda  
Coffee  
Paper Towels  
Cleaner**_

I turned back to Edward. "It'll probably be very easy."

We found all the item with little effort. He put our bags in the back seat. "By the end of today my car is going to be filled to the top with things."

I examined the nearly empty back seat. "Trunk, too?"

He nodded."Yes."

"Well, then, we had better get a move on."

We stopped at several places i didn't recognize. Each time we left with several boxes. Anytime we picked anything up, he would grab almost everything and leave me with a light box or two. To be honest it made me kind of guilty. I doubt I'd be able to pick up half the things he carried, but I didn't want to feel useless. He probably could've got a guy friend of his to come, it would've helped him out more.

Whenever we were in the car on our way somewhere, he was constantly asking me questions. What my favorite color was, where i grew up, what kind of music I like to listen to, etcetera. It was a bit overwhelming. I felt like i was being questioned as a suspect in a homicide, but i knew he was just trying to get to know me.

By now, the car was almost stuffed with things. We had one last stop to make. Edward parked in the driveway, and called for me to come with him. This was where his parents lived.

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Sorry, I kind of realized I keep writing cliff hangers.  
**The better to lure you in, my dear. MWAHAHAAHAAA.**

Thanks again to those who reviewed!


	4. Interested

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_This was where his parents lived._

I let myself out of the car before Edward could, once again. Edward and I walked up the driveway towards the house. The outside of the house was beautiful. Lovely flowers covered the perimeter of the house. There was an in-ground pool around the side. It was the kind of house a parent would want their kid to grow up in. I had a feeling that the inside would be even better.

And i was right. The inside was magnificent. All the rooms were bright and spacious. Big windows covered a large potion of the walls. Edward ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm going to see what he's up to. You can have a seat, I'll be right back." and with that he turned and ran up the spiral staircase.

I looked around his living room. There was a long suede couch on one side with a matching love seat positioned near it diagonally. They had a huge flat screen television. I noticed a Wii hooked up to the flat screen. I sat down in the love seat and waited.

Edward returned a little after. He walked straight over and sat down next to me. "My father is on the phone in his office. Sorry, but it might be a while."

"That's not a problem."

He gave me a crooked smile. I looked across the room, and saw a classic piano that i hadn't noticed before. He must have followed my gaze. "Do you play?" He asked.

"Not at all, do you?"

"Actually, yes."

"Really? I'd love to hear."

He hesitated before finally getting up and walking over to the piano. I followed him over. Edward took a seat on the little bench in front of the keys. He patted the bench next to him, so i sat down next to him. Edward looked over at me, then back down at the keys and began to play.

It was truly hypnotic. You couldn't help but get lost in the melody. I closed my eyes and felt my mouth turn up into a smile as i lost myself in the music. It was fascinating. I listened until I heard the keys hit a sour note, which caused me to open my eyes. I saw a tall man walking towards us. I could see the resemblance between him and Edward. Good genes definitely ran in the family.

"Sorry for the wait, Edward."

"No, It's fine. Bella, this is my Father, Carlisle."

Edward's father turned his attention to me. He extended an arm. "You must be Edward's girlfriend."

I reached out and shook his hand. "Actually, no. I'm his employee."

"Oh, Isabella? I remember hiring you. My mistake."

"No problem."

"If you two will just follow me I can give you what you need to so you guys can get back to what you need to do."

Edward & I followed his father up the stairs and down a long hallway. He opened a door in the back. I walked in behind Edward. Carlisle grabbed a box from the back of the room and handed it to Edward. He then grabbed an electric guitar next to it. He handed the guitar to me.

Edward put the box under his one arm and gave Carlisle a one armed hug."I wish i could stay longer, but I need to get a ton of stuff back to the shop, and I don't want to keep Bella even longer."

I realized that I had no idea what time it was. I looked down at my watch. It was 6:30! Not that it mattered, but the day went by so fast!

Carlisle nodded. "It's fine, I have a lot to do today anyways. Stop up some other time. And it was nice to meet you Isabella."

"Please, call me Bella. And it was nice to meet you too."

"I'll lead you out." said Edward, as he placed his hand on my lower back and directed me to the front door. We put the box in the last remaining room in the back seat and I kept the guitar in the front with us so it didn't break.

Edward pulled out of the driveway and then looked at me. "You're probably starving. We didn't stop for anything to eat yet, and it is pretty late. Would you like to stop somewhere before we go back to the shop?"

I hadn't realized how hungry I actually was. "That would be nice."

He grimaced. "Sorry for making you wait so long."

"Nah, I didn't realize how hungry i was until you mentioned it."

He drove for a little while and eventually pulled in at a little restaurant. I let him open the door for me this time, and we walked in the restaurant. I could see the women in the restaurant staring at Edward. Not that I could blame them.

A tall girl with dirty blonde hair walked up, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "Can I help you?" She asked, trying to make her voice sound sexy, I assumed. In reality, it made her sound like she needed to cough up a hairball.

"Yes, please. A table for two." He told her, holding up two fingers.

Her eyes drifted from him down towards me. I could see her expression change to disappointment. Her eyes quickly flickered back to Edward. She grabbed two menus and directed us to our table. He pulled out my chair for me to sit down. I opened my menu to look at my options. I decided i would go for a plain burger and some fries.

Soon after we were seated, a waitress came up to us. She was different from the girl who seated us, but there was no doubt she was attracted to Edward also. Not that I could blame her. She pulled out a small table. "What will you be having to drink this evening?"

"Coke." I told her.

"Make that two." Edward said.

She turned away and returned in a few minutes with two cokes. She placed them on the table."Are yous ready to order?"

"I think so," Edward said glancing at me questioningly.

"Yes. I'll have the burger with fries." I told her.

She clicked her pen and wrote down my order, than looked back to Edward.  
"I will have the chicken fingers." He told her, closing his menu.

She wrote down his order and then collected out menus. She walked away back across the room, I saw her peak at Edward from over her shoulder. It made me feel possessive over him. Like, it wasn't okay for anybody but me to look at him...

"Well," he started, breaking me out of my thoughts, "Thank you for accompanying me. I need to get all that stuff into the shop, but I could drop you off before that if you want."

"I can wait til after we unpack your car. There's a lot of things in there, I'm sure you could use a little help."

He smiled, "Thank you."

Edward was very kind. Not to mention, totally gorgeous. I told Alice just yesterday that I wasn't interested him. How much could have changed in a day? Obviously a lot had changed because I found myself wanting to be around him...with him. I looked up into his green eyes. So maybe I was interested now...But was he?

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Thanks for reading chapter four, now go to chapter 5!


	5. Dinner

_So maybe I was interested now...But was he?_

"So...What's your favorite number?"

"No, no, no," I protested. "You've been asking me questions all day. It's my turn."

Edward grinned. "Fine. Whenever your ready."

I picked up a French fry and popped it in my mouth. "How old are you, Mr . Cullen?"

"Twenty-two."

"And do you attend college, or do you just work at your music shop."

"I actually attend the same college as you and Alice."

"What are you majoring in?" I asked, _but somehow I already knew the answer._

"Music, but to be general The Arts."_ Bingo. Knew it._

"Do you ever write your own music?"

"Sort of, nothing major." _Yeah right. But i wasn't going to pry_

_"Would that be something I'd get to hear?"_

The sides of his mouth curved. "Maybe...Maybe not."

"What kind of flowers do you like?" His eyes questioned my sanity. "You asked me that earlier." The look in his eyes was still the same. "Fine! Let me think."

I tried to think of a good question. What we did today, what was said, stuff like that. Ooooooh. "When we visited your father today, he seemed to think I was your girlfriend. Which must mean you have one?" I asked, trying to keep my tone casual.

"Yes." My heart sank. I noticed his face change from content to tense when he answered.

I did my best not to let the disappointment leak through my voice. "And her name is?"

His face was still tensed. "Victoria."

I didn't like the way my last few inquiries changed his mood. All day he was smiling, and seemed happy. I hated feeling like i had something to do with this mood switch. That question was probably a bit personal. I tried to think of something that could lighten the mood. "Is that your natural hair color?"

His expression lightened. "Yes." he answered with a grin.

I grabbed a French fry off my plate. "Open" I told him. He obliged and opened his mouth. There was no way I could make it. My aim sucks...but he didn't have to know that. I arched my hand and flicked my wrist. The French fry soared through the air, across the table. It landed right on the side of Edward's eye. I watched as his brow furled down, and he got a mischievous look in his eyes.

He reached across the table at my plate. "My turn."

As he reached forward I pulled my plate backwards. This went on for a little while. He'd reach forward, I'd pull backwards. He gave up soon enough. But instead of just stopping, he picked up a chicken finger and waved it around a little. "Open up."

"Yeah, right." I said, ignoring him.

"You won't?"

"Nope."

"Well, that's fine by me." He looked at the chicken finger then back at me. The last thing I saw was Edward's crooked smile, The next thing I knew a chicken finger hit me smack dab in the middle of the forehead. I didn't even see him throw it. I must've looked really surprised, because when I opened my eyes he started laughing. I loved the way it sounded.

I raised an eyebrow." I'm not going to hurl something back at you, because we're in a restaurant. But next time we're alone, and around food, your in for it." _Did i just say next time? I guess i did..._

He chuckled. " Next time? Well, I might have to take you up on that."

I put my head down and smiled. " Well, if your done playing with your food. We should probably get going, Mr. Cullen." He picked up the bill and pulled out his wallet. I reached for my purse, but he put a hand up, signaling for me to stop. "At least let me get the tip, Mr. Cullen."

"No, I got it. And, please, call me Edward."

The Music shop wasn't far from the restaurant. We ended up back at the Shop in less than ten minutes. It was now 8:05. Alice was going to have a field day asking me about my day. I grabbed as much as i could out of the back of Edward's Volvo and put it in the store. We picked up tons of stuff. Cd's, records, instruments, sheet music, and other various music related items. Edward and I put all of it in the supply room.

Edward turned back to me and smiled. "Well that's it."

"I guess so." It really put a damper on my mood. I had a great day with Edward. I was sad to see it come to an end. "And don't worry about paying me for overtime, you bought dinner."

"Dinner doesn't count, I'm still --"

"No," I cut him off. "If there's extra money in my paycheck I'll just hand it right back to you."

"Dinner was barely half of what you should get for the overtime."

"I don't want it!"

His face turned in that crooked smile that was ever present on his face. "How about this. You let me take you out to dinner again, and I won't pay you for overtime."

That was something I just could not turn down. "Fine." I couldn't help but smile with him.

"Then it's a date." Did he just say date?! "I'll let you know when and where next time you come to work."_ A date...With my boss...Who has a girlfriend. Jesus, what did I get myself into?!_

He led me out of the supply room back to his car. He opened my car door, once again, and shut it for me after I was seated. The day went by so fast.

The ride went by even faster than my entire day. The only thing that was said was where I lived. Edward finally came to a stop in front of Alice's, Tanya, and my apartment. Edward looked straight into my eyes, leaning forward.. I felt like his sparkling, dark green eyes were looking right through me. His gaze was _piercing._

"Sleep well," He breathed.

I felt my blood reach my cheeks and ran my hand around in the dark, searching for the handle. Edward reached across me and opened the door. The innocent, closeness made my breath hitch. I then stumbled out of the car. I heard Edward chuckle as he closed the door. I watched as Edward's silver Volvo disappeared in the night.

I couldn't help but notice I hadn't embarrassed myself too much today. Plus, I was wearing a skirt. And, I didn't trip. Not to mention, I was going to dinner with Edward. All in all, not to shabby.

But, Edward happened to be my boss. Plus, He already has a girlfriend. I don't think it would be very fair to interfere. I decided not to think about it for now. The only thing I could think of now was the impending doom Alice was about to cause with her never-ending questions.

* * *

I must take this moment to thank Stephenie Meyer, for writing some of the best books of all time.

Keep reviewing!


	6. News

This installment is kind of short.

* * *

_The only thing I could think of now was the impending doom Alice was about to cause with her never-ending questions._

As I walked up the steps to my apartment, I began to think of different excuses I could possibly use. Not that I didn't want to tell Alice, but I'd rather not get into it. I trust her and everything, but sometimes I just wanted some things to myself, even if for only a little while. This was one of those things. I took a deep breath as I reached out my hand to turn the knob on our apartment door when it opened itself.

I looked up into the deep blue eyes of a ravenous, excited Alice who was ready to figuratively molest me with her questions. Her tiny, pixie face broke into a grin as she grabbed my forearm and pulled me inside. "Everything! I want to know everything!" She shrieked.

I looked at her seriously. "And what if there isn't an everything? What if there was nothing?"

The look on her face was nothing short of pure horror. I couldn't stand to see her so down trodden.

"Fine, fine." I gave in. "There is an everything. But , please, take into consideration that I am at your mercy." Her face quickly picked back up into a bright grin. I gave Alice the low down on what happened during the day. She practically bounced out of her seat when I told her about "the date".

"Do you love me?" She asked.

"Of course. You know that."

"Let me dress you for your date."

"Ahhhh, no Alice! I Don't even know when or where it's going to be."

"Well you can give me the details when you find out. Please?" She begged, with huge puppy dog eyes.

I couldn't resist. "Fine!" I told her angrily. "But that is it for tonight. I've had a long day, and I have classes tomorrow." She gave one last yelp of joy before I left the room.

Once I got in my room, I kicked off my shoes and sat on my bed. I replayed the days events in my mind. Nothing really happened besides me getting hit in the face with a chicken finger and Edward asking me out to eat. I changed my clothes, turned off my light, and tried to get some rest.

That was the first night I dreamed about Edward...

It was 11:00 A.M. I was sitting in the kitchen, eating a piece of toast. I didn't have work again til Thursday, but I did have classes. I got up off my chair and washed the plate I was using. Just then, Alice walked into the kitchen.

She put some coffee on. "Hey, stud." Alice greeted. I rolled my eyes at her. I knew she'd be making me regret that I told her anything. "So," She began. "tonight, you, Tanya, and I are going out."

Great. Just what I wanted. Another one of Alice's crazy plans. "Going out where?"

Her eyes grew big, and her smile bigger. "To the roller skating rink!"

I groaned. "Alice, please, no."

"Yes!" She giggled. "I rented the place out."

"For three people?"

"No, silly! Of course I invited other people."

"Who?" I asked. No answer. That was a bad sign. That meant it was less of a who, and more of a how many. "How many?" I prodded.

" Just a couple--"

"A couple?" I interrupted.

"Maybe not a couple..." I shot her a glare. She sighed. "Okay, okay. I invited a lot of people."

"That just makes it more final. I can barely walk with my feet, and you want to put wheels on me!"

"But you have to!"

"Why?"

"Because!" She said, exasperated. "Edward is going to be there!"

* * *

**Thanks for those who have taken their time to read my little fanfic!  
There is plenty more that has yet to happen, so try to stick with it!  
Also thank you to those who have reviewed, you folk truely know how to make a girl smile :)**


	7. Skating

"_Because!" She said, exasperated. "Edward is going to be there!"_

I felt my heart drop into my stomach. I was worried enough about our upcoming "date", but this was something totally different. I embarrassed myself enough on flat surfaces the first day I met him, but me on roller skates was a whole different level. "You did what?" I asked her through clenched teeth.

"I invited Edward. He asked if you were going to be there, and I told him you were. So you have to go! Besides It'll be a good time to get your flirt on."

"I won't be getting my 'flirt on', I'll be getting my 'falls to the ground on'."

"You'll be fine. I'll even help you get dressed!" She said, undaunted.

"That's more of a threat." I grumbled, too low for her to hear

"I need to get ready for classes." Alice said as she walked past me. "Be here at six, so I can get you together."

I couldn't believe she was dragging me to this. Well, actually I could. It was just the kind of thing she always does. Mostly, the fact that she invited Edward was unbelievable. I left out the whole "He has a girlfriend" part, so naturally she was going to make getting me and him together a top priority. But, even if I had told her he had a girlfriend, she would still make getting me and Edward together top priority. That girl knew no bounds.

I was in my own little world the entire day. I had no clue what happened in any of my classes. I was too distracted to pay attention. It was a nightmare. I trembled thinking about what would happen later that day. My heart was almost jumping out of my chest as I reached the apartment at six. I hesitantly opened the door. I made it to the living room, where I was knocked on the floor by a flailing Alice.

I grunted as I pushed Alice off of me. "What the hell?" I asked her, rubbing my side. She looked just about as shocked as I did.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I wasn't expecting you to fall."

"I wasn't expecting to be attacked!"

"Just pretend it didn't happen, we need to get to work!" She cried, clapping her hands together.

I mumbled obscenities as Alice drug me into the bathroom. I sat on a tiny stool as Alice sprayed and pinned my hair in place. After the hair, she went to the make up. I wrinkled my nose as Alice did my face. Eyeliner, Eyeshadow, Blush, Mascara, Lipstick, Powder. You name it, it was probably on my face.

I took a peak at myself in the mirror. I did look nice, but it was such a hassle. I'd rather not have to worry about doing all of that every time I wanted to go somewhere. Alice then pushed me from the bathroom to the closet. She rummaged around for what seemed like ages before she came out with a pair of leather pants and a zebra print tank top. It was very nice, but totally not something I could pull off. "No way." I told her.

She shook the garments around at me for several minutes saying "Put it on, put it on!" It sort of became a mantra. _Put it on, put it on, put it on._ I finally grabbed the clothes and stomped to my room.

When i got to my room, I slid on the pants, with quite a bit of effort. I bent over and touched my toes to make sure they wouldn't split before putting on the tank top. I walked over to my big mirror and examined myself. I looked...wild...sexy...not like Bella.

It was too different. I'd never wear something like that, but maybe that was good. Life wouldn't be exciting without a little variety. I slipped on a pair of black flats. I doubt Alice would object since I wouldn't be wearing them very long.

I exited my room and went to find Alice. Alice was dressed in a short denim skirt with a silky red designer top that swooped down pretty far. How she walked around in those six inch heals, I'll never know. She looked absolutely gorgeous. No wonder she had Jasper swooning. She smiled when she saw me. "See! You look fabulous."

I grimaced. "You look great, too."

"Thanks. We better be on our way." She declared as she grabbed my arm, hauling me out of the apartment. I took a deep breath and tried to ready myself for the upcoming event.

Alice nearly had to yank me out of the car and into the rink. I sat on a bench while Alice got us roller skates. She looked so happy. Her smile was like the Cheshire cat's from Alice and Wonderland. How fitting. This was Alice, and she was in her wonderland.

My heart palpitated as I laced on the skates. Alice stood up and grabbed my hand to help me onto the rink. I barely made it. I stood, holding on to the side. "I'll just stay here." I told her. "Go find Jasper."

Alice gave me one last glance, before turning to skate with Jasper. She looked so graceful, skating around with her hand in Jasper's. I sighed as I watched the dozens of people having a good time. This place was so not my cup of tea. I was holding onto the wall surrounding the rink for dear life, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned my head and looked straight into the eyes of Edward.

"How are you doing, Bella?" Edward asked

I looked down at the wall I was squeezing. He followed me eyes and chuckled. "I take it that means 'not well'."

I sighed once again. " Really, I can't skate and I was forced to come here and wear this."

His gave me a quick once over. I shivered. It was like I could feel his eyes wandering over my body.

He gave me a sympathetic smile. "Would you like my assistance?" he asked.

My heart rate increased as I shook my head yes. The lopsided smile showed it's appearance once again as he grabbed my hand and pulled me away from my comfort zone at the wall. Edward was as graceful as Alice on the rink. He slowed down to keep pace with my wobbling feet.

I stumbled, but I didn't fall. "Maybe I should just go sit down." I offered.

Edward's eyes were scorching as he looked at me. "Don't worry, I won't let you fall."

As much as I didn't want to be there, I trusted him. And I honestly didn't want to stop holding his hand just yet. I couldn't help but blush each time I stumbled. Edward kept true to his word and didn't let me fall once. After a little while of Edward's assistance, I was able to skate without stumbling at a very slow pace. It was a lot more fun when I wasn't worried about falling down, and Edward left go of my hand. We continued to skate around, at my extra slow pace. We were laughing and having a good old time.

Eventually we took a break, and got some nachos and soda. We sat down at the little snack area behind the rink. "Since I'm here now, would you like to make arrangements for dinner?" Edward asked.

My heart thumped. "Sure."

"I was thinking that we could get an early dinner somewhere around four and then do something else after that? I don't have the details down, but that's the general idea."

"That would be fine."

"Carlisle probably has your number written down somewhere from when he hired you. So, I'll call you once it is all set."

I smiled. "Sounds good."

His mouth turned up into that crooked grin that I loved. He then glanced at his watch. His smile faded a little as he turned his face back towards me. "I'm sorry, but, I really must be going."

I nodded. "Thank you for teaching me how to skate."

"It was my pleasure."

I got up from my seat and Edward did the same. He took a step forward, then a step backward and looked into my eyes. His dark, green eyes were scorching. He took another step towards me. He looked conflicted. He didn't say anything for a moment. I was sure the confusion showed on my face. He took another step backwards.

"I'll call you then." He called, and walked away.

I watched him walk out the door, and then i sat back down. What was that about? I wondered to myself. It was like he wanted to leave, but didn't wan to. Almost like he wanted to do something before he left... I unlaced my skates and put my flats back on. I sat and waited for Alice to get done. In a way, I was glad that she brought me here. I got to spend my time with Edward. But, I wasn't willing to spend the rest of my night there.

Alice returned with a smile and starry eyes. It made me happy that she had a good time. I was even happier that she was ready to leave. Alice grabbed my arm, and we walked to the car, leaving the skating rink behind us. It was a nice feeling, leaving that place. I just hoped I wouldn't ever be forced to return.


	8. Plans

_I just hoped I wouldn't ever be forced to return._

There was so much running through my mind that it made it difficult, but not impossible, to get to sleep. Soon after falling asleep, I slipped into a dream.

When I woke up, I tried to analyze what I dreamed about. I_ was sitting at the cash register. Alice wasn't around._ Which would be anything but normal in reality. _Nobody was coming in to by anything. It was just me...Sitting by myself in the music shop. I looked at my watch, which read 14:30. I acted like it was the most normal thing in the world. _Which, I guess that was a common hour in dreamland. _Soon after, I heard a door open. I turned my head toward the noise. It was Edward. He sauntered across the room straight towards me. A smile playing along his lips._ Even in my dreams, He made my heart stutter. _He was truly gorgeous. He leaned across the counter, looking straight in my eyes. "When will you take the hint? I like you!" _And, then I woke up. Weird, huh?

I had a feeling in my gut that Edward was going to be making a constant appearance in my dreams. I sighed, finally getting out of my warm bed. I only had a few classes today. I wasn't planning to do anything else after. I got ready for class, grabbed my books, and walked out the door.

Classes went by fairly uneventful. They were mostly shoving information at us because finals were around the corner. That meant summer. I could hardly wait. When I opened the door, I saw Alice sitting on the sofa with a piece of paper in hand. She looked like she was waiting for me. As soon as she noticed me in the apartment, she shoved the piece of paper in my hand. It read:

_707-6873_

I barely had time for my eyes to read the numbers before Alice started shouting "Edward called! Edward called!"

My heart rate increased when she said his name. I smiled, and reached for the phone. I dialed the numbers and waited for somebody to pick up.

"Hello?" Somebody answered.

"Hi, is Edward there?"

"Speaking, is this Bella?"

"Yeah."

The voice lightened. "Hey, I called earlier, but you were in class."

"I know, I got in a little bit ago. Alice told me you called."

"Well, I figured I'd let you know that I have everything set."

"Really? What did you plan?"

"At five on Friday, we have reservations at one of my favorite restaurants."

"And what would be proper attire?"

" I would consider it casual. Not jean wear, but not a black tie occasion, you know?"

"Yeah."

"And after--"

"There's an after?"

"Yes. After, I have something special planned."

I gulped. Special? "Oh."

"Yes. Besides what your wearing to dinner, bring two changes of clothes. One pair should be something old, that you don't really wear often."

What? I wasn't about to object, but I was definitely confused. "Am I spending the night?"

I heard him chuckle. "Why? Would you like to?"

"Yes... I mean.. No... Scratch that" I growled. " Why would I need extra clothes then?"

Edward was laughing again. Probably at me fumbling over my words. " You'll see. I actually need to get going though. Sorry, and I will see you Friday."

"Bye, Edward." I said, and hung up the phone.

Naturally, Alice was right next to me, listening to every word I said. I put my head in my hands. "I sounded like a fool."

"No, no." She soothed. "You were fine."

I filled her in on what Edward told me. When she heard casual wear, Alice grinned. She was probably more excited for Friday than I was. Actually, I was probably more nervous than excited. When I told her about after dinner, her eyes narrowed. Probably trying to decipher what he could be planning. Alice did have a knack for predicting things just right, but she was no mind reader.

While she was caught up in trying to figure it out, I decided to drop the bomb on her. "He has a girlfriend."

Alice looked back to me. She though for a second. "No, that won't be a problem."

Just like Alice. Indeed it _was _a problem, at least_ I _thought so. "I need to go shopping." Called Alice as she walked out the door.

The rest of my Tuesday and Wednesday went by uneventfully. Today was Thursday, and that meant classes and work. And, work meant Edward. I tried not to think about work and Edward at all during the day, but I couldn't. Our "date" was _tomorrow._ God only knew what could happen today. I shuffled through the apartment door, throwing my keys and books on the table. I walked into the living room. Alice was sitting on the couch, surrounded by different bottoms.

"I'm going to help you get dressed for work." She announced.

Great. I just wanted to slip on a pair of jeans and head out. Looked like that wouldn't be possible.

"No skirts." I told her.

"No skirts." She agreed. She then started to throw different items at me. I caught what looked like alligator print pants and a pair of microscopic shorts. I rose an eyebrow. I would not be wearing any of this.

Alice took the clothes from my arms and replaced it with a pair of jeans. I was surprised. Alice rarely offers jeans...Actually, I don't think she ever offered. They were faded and destroyed, no doubt bought and made that way. They were also skinny legged. I slipped the jeans on.

"There, happy?" I asked Alice

"Almost." she answered, with a giggle. That was never a good sign. Alice ran out of the room and returned a few minutes later with a pair of black and white heels. They were really pretty, but a death trap.

She handed the shoes to me. "Put them on."

"No." I told her as I pushed the shoes back into her hands.

"Aw, come on. You'll be fine. The heals not that big or skinny." I looked down at the shoes. She was telling the truth. It might not be that bad. I contemplated wearing the shoes, and what I could get in return. I had an idea.

"How about this, Alice. If I wear these heals today, when you dress me for the date, no heals."

I saw her face fall. She seemed to ponder it for a moment, but she still look upset.

"Or how about this." I continued. "Nothing over 1 inch." She seemed to perk up a bit with that.

"I'll have you know I'm only agreeing because I know this won't be your only date with him." She told me, handing the heals back to me.

I figured she would have let me pass on the heals today if it meant giving it up on my date. I guess I was wrong. The only soothing thought I gained was that I wouldn't be wearing high heels. I put on the shoes and partially tripped out of the apartment. Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

& Again, Tanya won't be causing any problems. Tanya's just a minor character.


	9. Alice

_Today was going to be a long day._

I was excited yet nervous when Alice pulled in to the parking lot of Cullen's Music Shop. I gave myself a mental pep-talk. _You can do this Bella. You can walk in there without falling flat on your face._ I opened the car door and stepped out. I concentrated as I walked up and through the door.

"Hello!"

I jumped about ten feet in the air. I was so busy concentrating on staying vertical that I didn't see Edward next to the door. He laughed at my shocked expression but quickly apologized for scaring me.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to scare you." He said. An amused expression still present on his face.

"It's not your fault. I was concentrating." I explained. His mouth turned up into the crooked smile that seemed to be showing up often.

"Are you still able to go tomorrow?" He asked.

" Yeah." I was incredibly nervous. He looked great today. He looked great everyday.

"Good. I'll be picking you up around four thirty."

I smiled. "Okay."

" If you'll excuse me I have a lot to do today. I probably won't be out of my office for the rest of the day. So, I'll see you tomorrow."

Edward gave me one last grin before walking away towards his office. Alice quickly came over and goosed my side. "He likes you." She hissed.

For some reason. I was still rather doubtful. It seemed to me that he was just being friendly. I rolled my eyes at her and returned to the register to get the day over with. With Edward in his office all day, there was no reason for me to want to be here at work.

Honest to his word, Edward hadn't come out of his office all day. Alice and I left at nine. I was relieved when I saw the apartment come into view. Alice and I went up to the second floor and opened the door. I stumbled through the dark kitchen and living room before making it to my own. I flipped off my shoes and didn't bother to change before crawling into my bed. I couldn't wait until tomorrow. I didn't know how I was supposed to react. Was this a little get together as colleagues, or something more? If it was something more, what about his girlfriend?

"Stupid girlfriend." I muttered to myself, burying my face in my pillow. Alice was sure to have something planned for me, too. I was thinking about all the different ways she would torture me, when I drifted to sleep. When I woke up, It was eight in the morning.

I rubbed my eyes walking through the apartment to the kitchen to put on some coffee. I was shocked to see Alice sitting at the counter, with two Starbucks in hand. She handed me the one and sipped on the other. "I have quite a few things we need to do before you go on your date." Just as I suspected.

"Like..."

"Like shopping. A manicure and a Pedicure?"

I groaned at the thought of how long today was going to drag on.  
"There is no groaning. Now get a shower! We have shopping to do, and the nail appointment is at two." She scolded as she picked up a Cosmo magazine and began to flip through the pages.

Arguing would get me nowhere. I walked to the bathroom and got in the shower. This shower was probably the only relaxing moment I had throughout the day. I tried to enjoy the moment, but Alice was quick to pound on the door.

"Get your ass out!" She yelled.

I washed the remaining soap off my body and obliged. Alice was not one to cross when they were on a roll. And, from the looks of her on the kitchen, Alice had been on a roll for a couple hours already. I wrapped a towel around my body and exited the bathroom. Alice was there with articles of clothing. She thrust the items at me. I grabbed them with my one arm as I held the towel tight against my body.

I walked to my room and shut my door. I held up the clothes that Alice gave me. There was a denim skirts and a silky white tank top with a high neckline. I was going on a date later. There was no way I was getting dolled up to find something to get dolled up in. I threw the clothes on my bed and picked out jeans and a t-shirt.

Alice wouldn't be happy, but she was bound to push my limits sometime today. I should be able to wear something I felt comfortable in for the time being. I opened my bedroom door and almost trampled Alice. Her eyes flowed over my outfit. The look on her face was not happy, but she pursed her lips and led me out of the apartment. I was glad she didn't give me a hard time. She was probably just anxious to start the day.

Alice was a ball of energy in the different stores. I watched Alice sift through the different racks, pulling out what she wanted me to try on. This was her atmosphere. At the end of our shopping escapade, we left with three bags. One had a short green dress with sheer black tights. I totally didn't want to wear it, but I let her buy it. if anyone knew how to dress to impress, it was Alice.

Plus, it was her money. She wouldn't let me pull out my wallet. In the other bag was a pair of leather ankle boots. They were actually very cute, but had a heal. I originally told her no, but she convinced me that it would look great with my dress. And in the last bag, was a lacy number from Victoria's Secret. I really, really didn't feel like I needed any new bras or underwear. Alice thought differently. She bought me the matching black bra and panties.

Then, she proceeded to threaten that if I didn't put them on, she would put them on me by force. Alice was very tiny, yes. But, if she wanted something she'd get it. The manicure was, I thought, unnecessary. Especially when Alice opted for me to get a full nail set. I thought plain polish would do the trick, but no. Alice wouldn't have that. So here I was stuck with these little pieces of acryllic on my hands. In the end, I had matching green finger and toe nails.

After we got back, Alice began curling my hair and putting make-up on. When she was done with my hair and make-up, I glanced at the clock. I had a half-hour until Edward would be here. I got changed. I put on the lacy panties and bra and the green dress with the tights. I quickly packed a bag with the two other outfits Edward told me to bring. I slipped on my black shoes and paced the room. Getting a feel for the shoes and trying to walk away the nerves. At four twenty-five, the phone rang. I picked it up on the second ring. "Hello?" I asked.

"Bella?" It was Edward.

"Yes."

" In the excitement of planning this event, I forgot to find out where you live. I guess I could ask my father to look on your application...But that would be a little weird. So, I figured I'd call you for the address instead."

"Oh, jeez. How did I forget to tell you? I live in the apartment building across from the University. It's a big brick building. 208 Cherry St. Second floor, apartment number four."

He chuckled. "Alright. Give me five minutes. I'll see you soon."

"I'm sorry!"

" Don't be."

"Bye, Edward."

"Bye, Bella."

I hung up the phone and turned to Alice. I informed her of what was wrong. I put my face in my hands. I was so embarrassed!

"Don't touch your face, Bella!" Alice shrieked. "I don't have time to redo your makeup!"

I rolled my eyes but obliged. About five minutes later, there was a knock on the door. My heartbeat instantly picked up. I grabbed my bag with the clothes and opened the front door.

Edward was standing there dressed in a black button down dress shirt and a pair of jeans. His hair was ruffled, but it looked great. His eyes were gazing at me intensely. I couldn't detect the emotion on his face. He ran a hand through his already messy hair and handed me flowers. I took them from his hands and brought them up to my face. They smelled so good.

"Let me put these in water quick. Come on in." He walked through the doorway right behind me.

"Hi, Edward!" Alice called from the living room.

Edward laughed. "Hi, Alice!" he called back to her. I grabbed a vase from our shelves and filled it with water. I put the flowers in the vase and put the vase on the table.  
When I was done with that, I turned back to Edward.

"Did you bring the changes of clothes like I said?" Edward asked.

"Yes." I told him, pointing to a bag near the door.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yes."

Edward grabbed my bag from the door and carried it for me. He opted to take the Elevator. I was relieved since I was wearing these shoes. When he pushed the button on the Elevator, he turned back to me.

"You look great." He said, looking me over.

I blushed and stepped into the opening Elevator doors.

* * *

Apologies to anyone that had started to read Employers Benefits. I wrote a few chapters and put them up, but decided that I wasn't going to do Edward's POV. Sorry to those who liked it. I wanted to leave my attention at Bella's POV. This is my first fanfiction, and I kind of got over my head. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	10. Ritalin

_I blushed and stepped into the opening Elevator doors._

Edward propped himself up against the far wall. I stayed somewhere around the middle. He didn't say anything, he just stared. At me. I met his gaze and we just stared at each other. It was like there was a strange electricity between us. When I heard the elevator doors open, I looked away. I heard Edward chuckle and I couldn't help but blush once again. I had a bad feeling I was going to be doing a lot of that today...

When we got out of the apartment, I saw the silver Volvo parked in front. He opened my door for me and closed it behind me. He walked around back and got in his side. Edward put the key in the ignition and didn't miss the chance to shoot me his crooked smile as he looked behind him to pull out. After what seemed like a millennium, Edward turned to me and said something. "So what did you do today?"

_Panicked and got ready for our date tonight. _"Nothing really. I sat around for a while." _Which was true in a way. I was on my ass for quite a while during the manicure and pedicure..._ "How about you?"

I saw the corner of his mouth twitch slightly. "Up until now, my day has been pretty uneventful."

_Up until now? Hmm..._ "I see..." I thought for a moment of something else to say. "So, are you planning on telling me what is planned after dinner?"

He turned to me and smiled. "I would, but then it wouldn't be a surprise."

I groaned. "I hate surprises."

"It'll be worth it. Trust me."

It'll be worth it? What in the world could that mean. I did trust Edward _in a way. _I've only known him for about a week, but he hasn't lied or did anything for me to have doubt in him. And for some reason, even though I did trust him, I doubted him at the same time. I've never known a surprise to be worth it.

When I was about eight years old the neighborhood bully, Jacob Black, told me he has a surprise for me. He asked me to come by his house and he'd give me it. When I came up to his house, Jacob came out front. He had his hands behind his back, definitely holding something. He smiled and then presented to me what he had behind his back. It was a cupcake. I was so happy I rushed up and gabbed it. I took a huge bite. When I looked back down at the cupcake, I saw something wriggle around. When I looked closer I realized it was a worm. I threw up that day, about ten times. I shuddered at the memory and cursed Jacob to the deepest pit of hell. When I came back from Memory Lane, I saw that we were in a parking lot. We were at the restaurant.

I concentrated on nothing but keeping my balance as we walked into the restaurant. He walked up to the lady at the little booth in front.

"Reservations for Cullen." Edward stated.

I watched the woman cross a name off her clip board and lead us to a reserved table. The restaurant was truly exquisite. I didn't even want to think how much the dinner was about to cost. The woman handed me and Edward our menus and walked back to the front. I paged through the menu, looking for what I wanted to eat. Everything sounded so good.

Soon enough, a waiter came to take our order. He was insanely skinny with blonde shaggy hair and a handlebar mustache. His eyers were practically popping out of his skull, and constantly flickering around the room- almost like he was looking for a fly. It was actually kind of creepy. I looked at Edward who looked like he was thinking the same thing I was. I told myself that I was not going to look that man in the fish eyes again tonight.

His voice came out impossibly low and scratchy. "Hello, I'm Mike. I'm your waiter. Are yous thirsty?"

I couldn't help but look to Edward. He clearly looked as weirded out as I did.

Edward just turned to me. "Some wine, perhaps?" I nodded. Edward glanced over the wine list and turned back to the waiter. Mike , the waiter, was standing there with his eyes closed.

His lips were moving but there was nothing coming out. Edward cleared his throat, causing the waiter to jump about five feet in the air.

Edward forced a smile, and pointed to something on the wine list. "We'll have that."

The waiter didn't say anything, he just strode off.

Edward looked at me sideways. "I have a feeling this is going to be an interesting meal..."

"Me too, me too."

The waiter returned with the bottle of wine, and poured way too much in our glasses. It was almost near the rim. He pulled out a little tablet, "Do you know what your going to eat?" Mike asked.

"Uh, Yes. I'll have the chicken Alfredo." I said.

"And I'll have the cheese ravioli." Edward added. The waiter scribbled a bit with his pen and just walked away once again.

"Edward, this waiter is kind of strange...don't you think?"

"That's exactly what I think..."

"This place is so detailed, and fancy. It's a bit unnerving to see such a waiter so...unethical?"

Edward nodded. "I'm pretty sure I'll be able to inform someone of him. I don't see how he could go about like this. He's just...a terrible waiter. Not to mention a little schizo... He was clearly talking to himself."

"I didn't think he was making any sounds. Did you hear what he was saying?"

Edward nodded. "I could make out a few words. Something about Democracy, this restaurant and..." He gulped.

"And?"

"Word domination."

One thing was for certain. This Mike guy, was certainly a little insane in the membrane...

We eventually got our food and sat down to eat. Mike made few appearances while we ate. Each time he did stop buy, he would fidget and seemed neurotic. I'm pretty sure during the one appearance, he was crying. Another appearance, and he looked livid. Other than our mentally unstable waiter, dinner was lovely.

The food was delicious and I loved being able to talk to Edward. We had quite a few things in common. Every now and then I'd catch him watching me, and unreadable look on his face.

Once we finished our meal, we got one last, disconcerting visit from Mike. Edward spotted him across the room.

"Look, he's coming back." He said.

"Oh, wonderful!" I watched as Mike seemed to hop toward us. "Is he hopping?"

Edward's eyes narrowed. "Not hopping... I think he's galloping."

"Like a horse?"

"No. Horses don't move like that. The man looks like he's having muscle spasms."

Sure enough, there was Mike. Closer to our table now, and more defined. He did look like he was having muscle spasms, gaining a lot of attention from other tables. However, none of the other waiters or waitresses seemed to notice. Mike made his way towards us and plopped a thin leather folder on the table. Edward placed a few bills inside and handed it back to Mike.

"What's your last name, Mike?"

Mike shifted back and forth, like he had ants in his pants. "Newton."

"Okay, Newton. No change." He told Mike. Mike quickly turned away and left.

"Did you tip him?" I asked Edward.

"Yes."

"A lot"

"Yes" Edward said.

I shook my head, "Why? He was the worst waiter I ever had. And, this place is so expensive! I've had more appropriate waiters in Hooters. Not to mention the fact that Mike was almost certifiably crazy."

"The more reason for a large tip. That guy needs help."

Edward pulled my chair out and held a hand out to me. I grabbed his hand as led me to the front door. When we got to the front desk, I saw Edward pull out a slip of paper. He handed it to the lady at the front desk. I smiled to myself as we left the restaurant. It read:

_Mike Newton needs Ritalin._


	11. War

_Mike Newton needs Ritalin_

The ride from the restaurant was fairly quiet. I was too busy thinking of the dreadful possibilities the upcoming surprise could have that I couldn't think of anything to say. Eventually, Edward broke the silence. "Well, I'm not going to tell you what the surprise is, but I'll tell you where we're going."

"And that is?"

"My place."

_His place?_ "I thought I wasn't sleeping over..."

"You're not." He chuckled.

"Oh, well that explains everything." I told him bitterly. I didn't mean to come off rude, I was just frustrated. A minute or two later, we pulled up to an apartment building. We got out of Edward's car and walked into the building and went up the elevator.

Edward pressed the round 5 button. "When we get to my apartment building, I want you to close your eyes. No peaking, promise?"

I nodded. Seconds later, the elevator door opened. He came to stop in front of a door that had the number 12 near the top. He took out a jumble of keys and put it in the door. He unlocked the door, but didn't open it yet.

"Hold this." he said, handing me my bag with clothes. Edward then stepped behind me and placed two large hands over my eyes.

"Your kidding." I said.

"Not at all. I don't want you peaking."

I rolled my eyes, not that he'd see since they were covered. I couldn't see anything as I hobbled through Edward's apartment. " I'm going to put you in my bathroom so you can change into the old clothes you brought."

"Alright."

"We're in my bathroom now, so I'm going to leave go of you eyes."

"Alright"

Edward left go and walked out the door, closing it behind him. I looked around, studying Edward's bathroom. The walls were a dark blue and the floor was tiled white and dark blue to match. The thing that popped out most to me, was the fact that it was so clean! The sink, the shower, everything.

I didn't want to be creepy, but I couldn't stop myself from rooting through his medicine cabinet. There wasn't much in it. A few razors and some shaving cream. There was some toothpaste, deodorant, and cologne. The cologne smelled really good.

I closed the cabinet and got changed. I brought a pair of black sweatpants and an old gray t-shirt from high-school. I put my curled hair , courtesy of Alice, into a messy bun and opened the door. The door led to Edward's bedroom. It was pretty basic, like his bathroom. The only thing I really noticed was the hundreds of cds along the wall. Edward's was sitting on his bed.

He smiled when I came out. "Are you ready for your surprise?"

"Not really." I told him honestly.

He laughed and came towards me. Once again he covered my eyes and led me to somewhere else in his apartment.

"Okay. So dinner was part one. Here is part two."

Edward left go of my eyes and I couldn't help but be shocked. There was cake, ice cream, strawberries, chocolate, and all sort of other desserts. It was impressive, yet strange. I mean, why was I wearing old, comfortable clothes just to eat dessert? And, why were there so many desserts? There was no way we would eat all that. Besides, I was already stuffed from dinner. I turned back towards Edward. He must have read the confusion on my face because he laughed at my expression.

"Remember when I took you out to eat the first time?"

"Yes."

"_Well_, I wasn't really satisfied with throwing _just_ a chicken finger at you." He explained.

Realization set in. We weren't going to be eating dessert. We were going to be having the food fight of all food fights. This was no worm-in-a-cupcake experience. This was going to be fun.

I grinned mischieviously. "Food fight?"

Edward matched my mischievious grin with one of his own. "To be more specific, a dessert fight."

I laughed. "Well your on. I'm looking forward to wiping that smile from your face."

Edward tried to put on an angry face, but the laughing gave it away. "This means war!"

He said. I was about to say something else, when my view was blocked by some chocolate cake. I was totally not expecting that. I wiped the cake from my eyes. Edward was laughing like a madman. I reached my hand in the nearest dessert and chucked a handful at him. It hit Edward square in the chest. Edward was just about as unsuspecting as I was. I'm pretty sure I hit him with a mousse of some sort.

After the shock left Edward's face, determination took its place. I reached for another dessert before he could react. Little did I know, I grabbed a handful of strawberries. Before I realized what I had in my hand, I threw it at him. I watched as the strawberries bounced off his chest and dropped to the ground. He laughed at me and reached for something else.

Although it started as more of a dessert argument rather than a fight, it progressed to an all out war. The kitchen was a disaster. My hair was sticky and full of food, as was Edward's. My face was lathered in chocolate syrup. I was a mess. Edward was the same way. We were laughing and having a good old time. I looked around the destruction of his kitchen to see if there was any other untouched desserts. Edward was doing the same. We both spotted a whipped cream pie on the counter. It hadn't been touched. I looked back to Edward. He was looking at me too.

"Don't even think about it!" I told him.

He laughed at me and made a move towards the pie. I ran towards it at the same time. Before I could make a grab at it, Edward had grabbed me. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground. I was about to get up when I saw Edward above me holding the pie.

My view was obscured by whipped cream as Edward pushed the pied onto my face. I wiped it from my eyes so I could see once again. Edward was inches away from me, smiling in triumph. I grabbed a handful off my face and shoved it across his face.

I sat up on the floor and tried to get the excess whipped cream off my face. "I think I won." I told him as I assessed the mess on Edward.

Edward chuckled. "I don't think so, I got the last pie."

"That doesn't matter. Just because you fired the last shot doesn't mean you caused the most damage."

"Fine, fine. Truce?" He asked, holding a hand out to me.

"Sure. Once your admit defeat." I said.

Edward laughed again and moved a few inches closer towards me. I wasn't expecting it, and I didn't resist as Edward's lips met mine. His lips were sweet and moved slowly against mine. It only lasted a few seconds and it was completely innocent, but I felt slightly light-headed afterwards.

I looked into the deep green eyes a few inches away from my own. "I could deal with a truce."

He grinned. "Oh, really? I was just about to claim defeat, but if you insist..."

* * *

Thank yous to everyone that has reviewed, favorited, and put story alerts on my fanfic.  
You guys make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside xp.  
And as for last chapter, it was kind of meaningless. I just felt the need to embarass Mike Newton. He's always struck me as kind of...slimey, like a newt. Although I have had a newt as a pet and I find them more endearing than Mike could possibly hope to be. Also, I have a strong hate towards Jacob Black. Sorry _dog_ lovers. I'm team Edward all the way.

Keep on reviewing guys D


	12. Truce

I'm happy to let you folks know that there have been over 4000 hits so far. Also, Employee Benefits has been favorite 21 times, and 41 alerts. Thanks guys, you rock :)

Keep on Reviewing, and enjoy chapter 12!

* * *

"_Oh, really? I was just about to claim defeat, but if you insist..."_

"I'll show you back to the bathroom." said Edward as he helped me up.

_Bathroom?_ "Aren't we going to clean up your kitchen before we clean up ourselves?"

"Actually, I was planning on cleaning up after you left..." Edward admitted, rather sheepishly.

"Well, your plans have been changed." There was _no way_ I was going to let him clean up the place by himself. He already had done too much. "Lead way to the cleaning supplies."

I took Edward and I about two hours to clean up the kitchen. The mess we made was _massive._

Edward mopped up the last of the mess off the floor and turned to me. "Now, we can go get cleaned up. I'll show you to the bathroom. Unfortunately, I only have one. Your going first."

I would've liked to protest, but his tone suggested that it was nonnegotiable. He led me through the house back to his bathroom. Since I had my eyes covered when I first came in, I couldn't see what the rooms looked like. They all seemed to be the same way I saw the bathroom, basic and clean but classy all the same.

"Here's the bathroom, yell if you need anything." Edward said, closing the door and leaving me in the bathroom once again.

I looked in the mirror. If I didn't no better, I wouldn't have believed it to be my reflection. My hair was matted down, jutting out in all directions, and clumped with desert. One side of my face was darkened with what was probably chocolate. There was frosting across my forehead, and god knows what along my jaw. I was a mess.

I quickly stripped out of my nasty clothes and turned the water on my in the shower. Once I got it to the right temperature, I jumped in. I grabbed the shampoo and popped the lid to smell it. It wasn't manly, but it wasn't girly. I couldn't define what it smelled like, but it smelled good. I put a generous amount in my hand. My hair needed _a lot _of work.

After I finally got all the muck out of my hair, I washed my body. His soap smelled _so _good. I recognized this as what he always smells like. I always thought it was cologne... I turned off the water and grabbed the towel off the rack. I dried off my hair with the towel a little before wrapping the towel around my body.

I looked around for my bag of clothes, but it wasn't here. _Think Bella, Think. Where did you put it?_ I asked myself. If anything, It was probably next to the door in Edward's bedroom. His bedroom was right outside the bathroom. I would just go and get it myself instead of calling for Edward.

I opened the door and walked out into Edward's room. My eyes scoped both sides of the wall until I found it. I grabbed it and stood up, and for the first time looked across the room.

Edward was sitting across the room at the top of his bed. He looked very shocked and was simply staring at me.

" I left my bag out here." I explained, blushing furiously.

I raced back into the bathroom and closed the door. I believe I actually blushed the entire time I put clothes on. I changed into the loose fitting jeans and tank top I brought. I pulled my hair up into a pony tail before finally opening the bathroom door once again. Edward hadn't moved. I blushed again when I looked at him, and silently cursed my body for blushing. Couldn't I ever restrain it? "I'm done."I said, stating the obvious.

"Alright. Feel free to look around." Edward said, strolling into the bathroom.

I decided to look around to try and get the thought of Edward showering out of my head. I walked from room to room, acquainting myself with Edward's apartment. It was a little bigger than Alice, Tanya, and mine.

There was the living room, the kitchen, an office-like area with a piano, his room, and the bathroom. I went back to Edward's room to look around a little bit more. I glanced at some of his CD titles and noticed a door I hadn't seen before. I opened the door, revealing a walk in closet worthy of Alice. It was really big, but not nearly full. His shirts were hanging and the rest of his clothes were folded on a few racks.

I just had to know, boxers or briefs? I looked along the racks until I found what I was looking for. Edward was a boxer man. Looking at his clothes made me remember Edward was close by...in the shower...naked... I had to find something else to do.

I walked from the closet back to his room. I opted for waiting out the remainder of the time in his room. I fluffed up a pillow and leaned back, waiting.

Edward came out from the shower a little bit later, donning nothing but a pair of plaid pajama pants, and according to my latest discovery -I'm assuming he wasn't commando- boxers.

His wet bronze hair was ruffled and fell in his eyes. My eyes raked over the glory that is Edward. His chest was sculpted with muscle, smooth, and something I would have loved to run my hands over. I realized I was probably staring like a loon, and looked back to his face.

He shot me that lopsided smile that seemed to always make an appearance on his face. "Do you want to hang around here for a little while longer and maybe watch a movie or something, or shall I take you home?"

I didn't want to leave. "Let's watch a movie."

Edward and I went to the living room. He had a long leather couch that screamed bachelor pad. I slid into the corner while Edward searched through his movies. "Any requests?" He asked.

"Nope."

"Alright" He said putting the DVD on.

I shuddered when the title came up. Nightmare on Elm Street. Of all things, of course he'd pick a horror movie. Edward came back and sat next to me. "You okay with this?"

"Yeah." I lied. I mean, I didn't mind watching it, but I scare easily.

Eventually, I was cuddled up into Edward's side, squeezing his hand and arm. He laughed every time I jumped or squealed, but he was also soothing. He made me feel safe, and I liked the way it felt to be sitting here next to him. I wouldn't mind going on another date with him.

Just then, I remembered something. _Victoria. _I wouldn't be able to date Edward again, he was already in a relationship. My stomach churned. He'd been in a relationship, and we had kissed. _Uh-oh._ We were going to need to have a conversation about that...later. I was too comfortable at the moment.

I snuggled my head onto Edward's shoulder. I yawned and continued to watch Johnny Depp die. My last thoughts were of poor, sexy Johnny Depp getting killed in his sleep, as I dozed off into my own slumber.


	13. Morning

_My last thoughts were of poor, sexy Johnny Depp getting killed in his sleep, as I dozed off into my own slumber._

My eyes flitted open, slowly adjusting to the light around me. I wasn't in my bed. I wasn't even in my own apartment. The night came flooding back to me, and I remembered falling asleep on Edward's shoulder.

I glanced on both sides of the huge bed around me. It was just me there. I didn't really expect Edward to be there. Although I didn't know Edward that well, I knew him enough to know that he was a gentleman.

But, it was his _bed. _If he wasn't going to wake me up and send me home, I would've made myself comfortable on the floor or his couch or something.

I finally mustered enough energy to get out of the huge, comfortable bed and made my way to the connecting bathroom. I looked in the mirror and groaned. My hair looked like a haystack and my face was all blotchy. I pulled my hair up and splashed a little water on my face. Then I bounded out to find Edward.

As I passed, I peaked at a clock. It was seven in the morning. And, I had work. I doubt I'd have enough time to get out of here and get home to get changed and washed for work. I made my way to Edward's living room, and found Edward.

He was laying on his side with a thin blanket draped over half his body. More of it was on the floor than on him. He looked so cute and calm, just laying there. I made my way to the edge of the couch and sat at the unoccupied end near his feat.

I decided that I was going to wake him up. After all, I did have work. And, that meant Edward had work. _Great Bella, Not only did you go on a date with your boss, but you spent the night too_ I thought inwardly.

I decided to go for a more playful wake up, and began to tickle his feet. At first, he just sort of twitched a bit. Then, all of a sudden, he jumped about five feet in the air and fell to the floor, landing with a great_ thud._

I couldn't help but let out a loud, long laugh as Edward uprighted himself, dazed and confused. After a minute, everything set in. I was surprised to see Edward looking a little embarrassed.

"Good morning, Edward."

Edward's hand went through his bronze hair, that was already frazzled from sleep. "Good morning."

I folded my legs up Indian-style on Edward's long couch and began to tell him my dilemma. " As you well know, I have work this morning. And..-" I glanced at my watch, "And it is already quarter after seven. I doubt I would have time to go home, get washed, and get changed to be nearly on time. Plus, Once I get home I'm bound to be ambushed by Alice wondering why I never came home last night."

I arched an eyebrow at Edward, who in turn gave me a sheepish smile. "I didn't want to wake you. You looked too peaceful."

"I'm not complaining, your bed is really comfortable." I told him, earning a crooked grin from Edward. "Sorry you had to sleep on the couch." I apologized.

"No, it's fine." I didn't say anything for a moment as Edward deliberated the dilemma.

"Normally, I'd be up and out of here around six-thirty to get into the shop early. So I'm a bit out of my element. If you'd like, you could shower here and head to the music shop with me?" He offered.

"That would be fine, but I didn't bring my work shirt or anything with me, and my other clothes are dirty."

Edward thought for another moment. "You can borrow something of mine, if you want to. As for the work shirts, you can just throw those out. My father did that without telling me. Let Alice know that also."

"I think I'll borrow one of your shirts and just wear my jeans for today." I decided.

Edward led me to his closet. He just stood with me in the middle of it and looked along his shirts that were hanging.

He pulled down a black long-sleeved button down shirt and handed it to me. "Try this on, It's probably one of the smallest things I have."

I took the shirt from his outstretched hand and opened the buttons, sliding the shirt over my shoulders. I finished doing the buttons and looked up at Edward. His shirt was big on me, but I didn't look frumpy.

"What do you think?" I asked him.

"You look very nice. I don't really have anything smaller." He said apologetically.

"It's fine, thank you. I'm going to get in the shower quick, if that's alright?"

"Yes, thats fine. Take your time." said Edward walking from the closet.

When he closed the door, he left the room and made his way back to the living room. I ran into the bathroom and quickly washed up. In fact, I probably didn't have to wash since last nights escapades called for one, but I was glad I did when I saw little chunks of cake fall from my hair. I made sure everything was out of my hair before getting out of the shower and putting on the clothes. I slipped my jeans on and then grabbed Edward's shirt. I put my hair back up in a ponytail and exited the bathroom. I also grabbed my bag.

_Funny,_ I thought _I kept asking Edward if I was spending the night. Which I wasn't supposed to be...But look how it ended up. Here I am._

I reached into my purse by my bag and picked out my cell phone. It was still on silent from dinner, which turned out to be a good thing. I opened my phone and gasped in horror.  
**You have 72 missed calls**

"_Alice**!**_" I groaned.

All of them were from Alice. And not only did I have 72 missed calls, but I had 18 messages on my voice mail. I called my voice mail and began listening to my messages.

Alice voice played through my speaker, fairly calm. "Hey Bella, It's Alice. It's eleven thirty and I don't know how long dinner could take, but--" Click. Next message.

Alice's voice came through my speaker once again still fairly calm"Hey Bella, I left a message about a half hour ago. It's now midnight-" I clicked to the next message. The next six messages came by, Alice was still somewhat calm but really wanted to talk to me.

Message ten was no longer calm. Alice's worried voice was now speaking. "Bella, It's 12:30 in the morning. Your not hear and your not answering--"

I clicked through the next 3 messages with worried Alice. By message 13, calm Alice and worried Alice were nowhere to be found. They were replaced with an irritated Alice. "Bella it's one in the morning and your still not home! What in the hell-" I clicked through

irritated Alice, which only lasted two messages, and made my way to irate Alice.  
Message fifteen began to play back. " BELLA IT'S TWO IN THE MORNING!! WHY AREN'T YOU ANSWEING YOUR PHONE!?--"

I clicked and went to the next message. My last three messages were hardly messages. They were just strings of curse words.

"SON OF A -" Click.

"DAMN IT BELLA-" Click.

"FU-" Click.

I was going to have a hell of a lot to explain when I got to work. I grabbed my bag and went to find Edward. He was fully dressed and looked ready to go. He smiled brightly at me when I walked up and handed me a cup of coffee.

"Sugars on the table and creamer is in the fridge." Edward said, pointing to where it was.

Normally, I would've put a little sugar and cream in but there was no use delaying the inevitable Alice. I downed the coffee quickly and went with Edward to his car.

_Might as well get this over with, _I thought as Edward drove off towards work.


	14. Wrath

Alright, everybody! How 'bout that Breaking Dawn, eh? Shocking. Very, very shocking. And very unexpected. I mean, I loved it. But, I would have to say it wasn't my favorite. I enjoyed Eclipse more than I had Breaking Dawn. But, by no means was it not a good one. Stephenie Meyer, you are god.

I got my book at midnight and didn't sleep til I finished at eight in the morning. And even then I didn't sleep. I pulled an all-nighter and didn't rest until midnight last night. Boy, am I out of whack. Note for future, don't mess with my sleeping pattern. I get all wierdly hyper and flustered.

Also, I was a bit angry to find that Jacob had a POV. Stupid mutt. He's such a ... pedo. How about it people that finished? Har Har.

* * *

_Might as well get this over with, I thought as Edward drove off towards work._

We talked a little on the way to work, but not much. I knew Alice was probably waiting to accost me and I had to make sure I had my story straight. I told Edward about the missed calls and about Alice's overreactions. I warned Edward that it was in his best interest to stay in his office until I gave him the okay. He didn't argue with me.

He pulled in the parking lot and for once, didn't try to open the door for me. He took off in a brisk jog into the shop. Although I was worried about Alice, I couldn't help but laugh. I made sure my smile was no longer present on my face as I stepped into the music shop.

Alice was seated in a large leather arm chair and was wielding a magazine like a weapon. She had on thick, black sunglasses and her mouth was pressed in a straight line. I realized the large leather chair from Edward's office.

I been through this enough times not to even attempt to apologize to Alice before she was done. Alice didn't move from her chair or seem to acknowledge me where I stood a safe distance from her.

Of course, it was hard to tell if she was looking at me because of the sunglasses, but her face was facing me. Her demeanor didn't change when she began stage one : The Questioning.

"Why didn't you answer my phone calls last night, Bella?" Alice began.

"My cell was on silent."

"Why didn't you turn it off silent?"

"I forgot."

"Oh. So you forgot. How come you didn't call me?"

" I didn't think of it."

"And why didn't you think of it?"

" I was..., I tried to choose my words carefully. If I told her I was busy, she'd think I was taking attitude with her. Alice wasn't my mother, and she knew this, but shealso knew that she does have a right to know what's going on. We've been best friends for the longest time and I technically live in her house. What's a good word, what's a good word... "preoccupied."

"Oh, _preoccupied_? What could have been _that _occupying?"

The after date was very occupying, but I'd tell her about the date during stage four. " I don't know."

"Did he take your v-card, Bella?"

"No, no, no Alice!" I practically shrieked. Great, Edward probably heard that part, if not the entire conversation. I decide preoccupied was not a good word to describe it.

" So you didn't answer my calls. When did you realize I called?"

"This morning..." Ah, shit. I was really going to be in trouble.

"And you _still _didn't return my calls?"

That was sort of rhetorical. She knew I didn't return her calls, but she wanted to hear me say it. "No."

With that, Alice rose from the leather arm chair. She seemed to be calm and collected, but I knew better. She was on stage two: The Beat-down.

She stepped forward and looked up at my face. Her eyes were still shielded by the sunglasses. In what seemed like a second, Alice was beating me over the head with the magazine repeatedly.

Her tone was scolding. " I. Was. Worried. Sick." She said, hitting me at the end of each word. Her magazine bashing didn't stop as she continued. "I didn't know what was going on! You made it clear you were coming home, and then you didn't. I didn't know if you decided to stay or were on your way home and just never made it! And, what if you were on your way home and something happened to you?! Or, what if you didn't come home, because Edward turned out to be a psycho! I didn't sleep at all! I was sitting, waiting, hoping you would come home or call!" After she was done her rant, the beat-down stopped.

It was time for stage three: The Love. Alice leaped into my arms and went into a bone crushing hug. She squeezed and squeezed me. She then whipped off her sunglasses and I could see the bags and worry that was in her eyes. I instantly felt terrible.

"I'm so happy to see you." Alice started again, talking between hugs. "I'm so glad your not hurt or anything. I almost didn't know if you were going to show up! What if I was right and something happened to you?" Alice leaped out of my arms and stood in front of me once again.

Now it was time for the final stage, stage four: The Explanation. "Obviously you had stayed the night, noting your outfit and arrival with Mr. Cullen. It certainly provides the impression that you two may have 'shacked up', so to speak."

I blushed again at her words, and her eyes went straight into alarm. I saw it stretch across her face and I quickly remove it. "No, after the second part of our date we put a movie on and I fell asleep. Edward didn't want to wake me up, so he let me crash there." I explained.

"Well, why are you wearing his clothes?"

I went into full explanation of the entire the date. Dinner with Edward and Mike the Spastic, The desert fight and the kiss, the shower incident, the movie, and what happened when I woke up.

"I'm still angry at you for not answering or returning my calls, but that sounds amazing! I'm so happy that your date turned out that way. But, didn't you say he had a girlfriend?" Alice asked.

" He does! I'm planning to talk to him about that..."

Alice nodded and pursed her lips for a moment. "You need to talk to him about it, NOW." She demanded. "Take the chair back, and talk to him about it!"

Alice began pushing me towards his office. "No, Alice! I don't even know what I'm going to say yet."

" Clearly, you need to tell him he needs to make a choice. He can't have a girlfriend and date you at the same time. Polygamy is a crime." Alice said wisely, pushing me onto the leather arm chair.

She grabbed the back and pushed me into the room, despite my protests. Alice gave me a final push and closed the door, leaving me and Edward alone in his office. I was completely shocked to have me and the chair go sliding straight into the wall.

"Sorry, Bella!" Alice called through the door.

Edward was next to me in a flash. "Are you alright?" he asked, his velvet voice thick with worry.

" Yes." I told him, rubbing my forehead. Edward watched me and swooped down to place a quick kiss on my forehead. I closed my eyes when I felt his lips touch my skin, and I instantly forgot about the definite bruise that was beginning to form on my face.

"Glad to have my chair back. Although, I was expecting a more subtle arrival." Edward chuckled.

I was instantly embarrassed and ,no doubt, blushing.  
"Did you hear all that?" I asked pointing towards the closed door.

He nodded. "Remind me to never cross, Alice. Though I doubt I'll need reminder."

I laughed, Alice was a force to be reckoned with. Edward was quick to pick me up from the chair and slide beneath me, leaving me seated on his lap. I felt my eyes close again as Edward began to nuzzle the back of my neck. It felt natural to be like this with him here.

I remembered that I had to talk to Edward about his girlfriends situation. I opened my mouth to speak, but my resolve weakened as I felt Edward's lips press the skin on my neck. Almost instinctively, I tilted my head to allow better access.

He was quick to turn me around in the seat. I opened my eyes to find Edward's smoldering about an inch from my own. I instantly closed my eyes once again and leaned forward.

This kiss was very different from the once I received after the food fight. As my lips moved against his, there was a heat that radiated from my lips all the way down to my toes. I placed an arm around his neck and burrowed the other in his hair, gripping him closer. I couldn't think about anything besides Edward, and I didn't want to.

He worked expertly against my lips, unlike any kiss I ever had. I had a tendency not to only date horrible, nerdy boys but also very bad kissers. If I could've brought him closer to me, I would have. His one hand was around my waist and his other was in my hair, almost as mine were to him.

It was a good thing I wasn't standing, or I probably would have melted at his feet. Under no circumstance would I ever want to stop kissing this amazing man, but I had to. The realization that Edward was cheating on his girlfriend gave me enough will to break the mind-blowing kiss.

I opened my eyes and Edward's opened too, confusion and raw passion etched across his face. He bent his head back to my neck and began to plant more small kisses along the side of it. I would probably have forgotten everything again, but I was on a mission. I needed to get this out.

" We need to talk about something." I told him. His lips continually moved back and forth along my neck, momentarily erasing my will. This would probably be more difficult than I thought.


	15. Hurt

Sorry guys, but this is another short chapter. It's about half as long as my normal chapters. But, I felt that this needed to be it's own chapter.

I was ecstatic to see all the new people that have reviewed and favorited my story, yous guys are freakin' awesome!

* * *

_This would probably be more difficult than I thought._

Edward's lips were still making his way along my neck when I began talking again. It was hard to keep my mind on track, but I was proud that I could. "Edward?"

"Huh?" He whispered against my neck, sending chills down my spine.

"I need to talk to you."

"Alright, keep talking." Edward said softly in my ear.

Edward was really breaking my concentration, but I knew how to get him to listen. "It's important."

Edward's lips were off my skin as soon as the words left my lips. He moved away and looked me in the eyes, curiosity was sprawled along his face. "I'm all ears."

I took a deep breath and began to tell him what was up. " So, I really had a great time yesterday. It was probably the best date I've ever been on," His lips turned up into the crooked grin I loved.

" But..." at the 'but' Edward's grin instantly faded. " But, I remember when we went out to your fathers and to eat, you told me you had a girlfriend."

Edward's eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

"I think cheating is plain wrong, and you clearly did that. So, one of us needs to go. If it has to be me, I guess it has to be me. But, I won't date you, kiss you, or show any other affection besides that of a friend until this is settled."

Edward didn't say anything for a couple minutes. He was clearly conflicted, but I did not regret what I said to him in the least. He slowly nodded. " Your right. What I've been doing has been completely wrong and disrespectful of me. I hope you can forgive me."

" Yes, I can forgive you."

" I really, really like you, Bella..." Ah, here it comes. The dreaded 'but'. "But, I really don't know how I'm going to figure this out. I want to be with you, but I don't think I can do that to Victoria right now." He ran a hand nervously through his hair. "Give me some time?"

" I can do that. But, I won't wait forever."

" Thanks, Bella. I don't expect you to."

I got up from Edward's lap and extended an arm. "Good-day Mr. Cullen"

His hand slowly closed over my own and he grasped it lightly before leaving go. " Bye, Bella."

I opened the office door and walked at a very slow pace to the front register. Alice looked over at me with a smile, until she saw my face. Her brow furrowed and she came up to me. "Didn't it go right?"

I half shook my head, half nodded. " I told him that he had to pick. He couldn't be with us both, and he agreed. But, he asked for some time."

Alice frowned and she reached forward and gave me a hug. "I'm sorry, Bella. I thought he'd choose you instantly."

"It's alright and it's not your fault. Of course he'd have to think things over."

I was saying this more to convince myself than to convince Alice. Alice knew me well enough to know that. She handed me her car keys. "I can take it from here for the day."

I gave her a slight smile. "Thanks, Alice."

I've never really been rejected. This was new, and it hurt. I always kept to things that wouldn't bring along that sense of failure. I put myself out there, and I couldn't help but feel that things weren't going to go my way. That the date and kisses we shared weren't going to happen again. I opened Alice's car door, took a seat in the font, and cried.


	16. Unclear

_I opened Alice's car door, took a seat in the front, and cried._

When I could see clearly, I drove back home. And when I got there, I went straight to sleep. I had nothing else to do since Alice and Tanya were at work. I didn't sleep very well though.

I gave up around eleven thirty P.M. Alice and Tanya were ,of course, home by then, but they weren't about to bother me. They knew when to give me space. If I wanted to talk, I'd have to go to them. I quickly tore off Edward's shirt and through it as hard as I could across the room. But, alas, shirts do not go very far.

I went out into the living room, Tanya was sitting there watching television and Alice was probably somewhere else. I took a seat by Tanya on the couch.

Tanya glanced at me out of the side of her eye and nodded her head in acknowledgment.  
It was somewhat quiet for a few minutes with nothing but the television sounding in the background.

"You want to talk?" Tanya asked.

I nodded.

"Well, what's going on?" Her voice thick with worry.

I filled Tanya in about the date and what happened at work. She didn't say anything for a moment after I finished.

Eventually, she began to talk again. "Well, you know Edward has a girlfriend. But, did you ever ask what the status of the relationship was? I mean, are they on the rocks or is he just a player?"

"I never really thought about that or asked."

" I'm not saying that it's your fault or anything, but maybe you should have. I'm pretty sure this Edward fellow isn't a bad person, so I don't think he'd try to hurt you. There must be something going on that's making his decision difficult."

I never really thought about that either. I was too upset over the rejection I felt to even bother analyzing exactly what the situation was. " It doesn't really change that much. It might make me feel better, but until Edward's a single man there can't be anything between us."

"I know that, but I don't think you should take what happened to heart. There's probably a lot of underlying circumstances that you don't really know about."

Tanya was right. What _did _I know about Edward's relationship? It wasn't very fair of me to expect him to just dump her on the spot. It wouldn't have worked that way, and if it did, It wouldn't have said anything very good about Edward's relationships. For now, I could handle friendship.

I gave Tanya a slight smile and a hug. "Thanks, Tanya."

"Anytime." She replied.

After my conversation I decided to go back to sleep. It's not like there was anything else to do. I woke up early again since it was Saturday. I hopped in the shower quick and threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater. There was no one to dress up for anymore.

Alice was sitting on the couch, legs crosses, eating a bagel. I almost forgot to tell her that we didn't have to wear those shirts. Alice was going to be happy.

"With all the commotion yesterday, I forgot to tell you that Mr. Cullen said we don't have to wear those shirts anymore."

Alice's face lightened, but only slightly. Something was up.

I took a seat next to Alice. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "No. I don't want to bother you. You were just upset yesterday, I should be trying to make you happy, not laying my problems on top of yours."

"Don't talk like that, Alice. You know I'm here for you." I threw an arm across her tiny shoulders and pulled her to me. "Now tell me what's going on."

Alice took a deep breath and turned to me. Her eyes were all red and puffy. She had clearly been crying. " Jasper told me that 'we need to talk' last night. He didn't tell me what about, and he didn't seem happy. What if he's breaking up with me?"

" I don't know, Alice. But I don't think you should worry about it until it happens."

Alice nodded and wiped her eyes.

"How about this, since you let me off yesterday. I'll handle it today, alright?"

Alice nodded again. She turned to me with a faint smile. "Thanks, Bella."

" It's no problem. When are you guys going to 'talk'?"

"Later on tonight."

"If you want I can drive you to and fro, just in case."

Alice gave me another hug. "I'd like that."

I grabbed my keys off the counter and left for work.

It took me a little longer to get to work than usual. Probably since I obey the rules of the road. The music shop was already opened up and ready to go when I got in. All I could hope for was that Edward didn't leave his office all day.

Soon enough, I'd realize, there was no hope. About a half hour after I got in, Edward came out of his office.

He walked up to me."Is Alice here today?"

I didn't look him in the eye when I answered."Nope."

"You left yesterday." It wasn't a question.

"Yes."

I saw his hand shoot up and run through his hair. Something he did when he was nervous, anxious, embarassed, or frustrated.

"I'm truly sorry." His voice was low, sad.

I didn't reply. I just nodded to indicate I heard him so he'd stop apologizing. It wouldn't make it any better.

"I mean it."

"I know."

"Then why won't you even look at me?"

Although I made certain not to look him in the eye during this conversation, I threw it aside and looked him straight in the eye, letting my exact feelings show through.

"Just because your sorry, it doesn't change anything. All it proves is that you feel bad for doing it, that your not an emotionless ape. But, it doesn't make me feel better."

Edward was quiet for a moment. He took another step towards me and drew me into a hug before I could refuse. His arms had a strong hold against me and his face was buried in my hair.

Although I told him and myself that I wouldn't allow this, I couldn't help but melt against him. I could feel his muscles against me beneath his shirt. I could smell him, and damn did he smell good.

I felt his lips press lightly against the top of my head and his hand rub small circles on my back. I felt his mouth leave my hair and moved down my face. When he got to my ear he spoke softly. "I really am sorry."

I didn't indicate that I heard him because before I could his lips moved farther down, onto my neck. This would surely be my undoing.

Before I became incoherent, I spoke. "Are you still with Victoria?" I asked.

His mouth stopped when he hear what I asked, and I knew the answer

. Although he was holding me in a vice grip, I knew he'd respond. I did my best to push him away. I put my hands square on his chest and pushed. He reacted like I knew he would. He stepped away and I could almost feel his eyes on my face. I didn't want to look at him, but I did have a few things to say. "I made myself clear yesterday."

I heard him exhale deeply. "I know."

"Then why can't you just do what I asked?"

"Because." He answered.

"Oh, b_ecause_! Is that right?"

"Yeah." I could hear him getting angry.

"Well, it's all clear now!" my voice was thick with sarcasm.

"Because, Bella! There's a lot going on with Victoria that you don't know about. And I know it's wrong, but I can't stay away from you!"


	17. Crystal

"_And I know it's wrong, but I can't stay away from you!"_

"I'm pretty sure you can, Edward." I told him coldly.

"Honestly, Bella. I've fallen for you." He sounded sincere, he looked it too.

I imagined him saying that to me the first day I walked in. But, it didn't feel as good now. I had fallen for him, too. But right now, that would hinder more progress than it would make. When I didn't reply, Edward exhaled loudly and ran a hand through his hair.

" Can I try to explain? I don't know how much it will help, or if it will help at all, but it might help you understand better."

When I didn't reply, Edward spoke again. "Please, Bella."

There was so much intensity and pleading behind his voice. I nodded, signaling him to continue.

He took a deep breath and began his explanation. " See, I've been dating Victoria for about two and a half years. Her father sold my father this shop. I met her when my father bought this place. I was attracted to her at first because of her beauty and intelligence, she also had an interest in music like me. Everything went well for a little while. She seemed genuinely happy with me, and I with her. But everything got really bad, really soon.

"Victoria started to show her true colors. She was very dramatic and made a show out of everything. She would take money from me, hundreds at a time. The intelligence that sparked my interest dwindle away, and she became such a moron. She'd accuse me of being unfaithful when she was the one cheating and lying. It was all too much.

"At first, I was worried that if I broke up with her they wouldn't let us keep the shop. After that worry, other problems came up. Eventually, it seemed best to just stay a distance from her. I broke up with her once after we were together with a year. I started dating someone else. Victoria beat the girl up horribly. She had two black eyes, a chipped tooth, a concussion, and two broken ribs. I have no idea how Victoria managed to hurt her so badly, but she had. Victoria didn't get in trouble because she threw the first punch. I talked to Victoria when I found out and Victoria insisted she couldn't live without me and threatened to comitt suicide. I didn't want to be with her, but I couldn't let her do that.

" So I ended back up with Victoria. I just tried to keep my distance. She would come visit me a couple days a week, but I always tried my best to cut them short. Victoria went on 'business' to France two weeks ago. I know she's most likely screwing every male she comes across.

" When I came back from Italy, I wasn't expecting to fall for an employee my father hired. But I did. As much as I'd like to, I don't feel like I can just call Victoria up and say 'Hey, it's over!'. I really want to be with you, Bella. Victoria won't be back for another week and when she gets back I plan to end it somehow. But I need to find a way to do it so she doesn't go after you. If Victoria hurt you, I don't think I could forgive myself. I doubt this changes much, but now you know."

There was no doubt in my mind that he was telling the truth. You could barely call _that_ a relationship. That Victoria seemed like one psycho bitch. I didn't really feel bad for Edward cheating on her anymore, but I wasn't about to start dating him while he was with her. This changed things. _A lot. _There was only one thing it didn't change.

"The only thing that hasn't changed from what you told me is that there can't be anything between us until you can end it with her. I'm not angry at you and I now know why things are the way they are. We can talk, we can hang out, but we can't be romantically involved at all. I don't feel bad for Victoria, not at all. But it goes against _my_ morals. Understand?"

Edward seemed to perk up after that. He had a faint trace of a smile. "So after I break up with Victoria..." He trailed off.

"Yes, we can date."

Edward was ecstatic at the news. His face lit up into a dazzling smile. I smiled a little too. I was happy everything was cleared up. Edward came up to me and wrapped me in a tight hug. It was nice, but it didn't push any limits like the one did earlier. Edward made sure to keep it friendly.

"Well, I am taking off for the day, boss!" I told him, stepping out of the hug.

Before he could object, I was in my car. I cam home to a frantic Alice. She was in the living room, surrounded by piles and piles of clothes. When I stepped through the doorway, I was ambushed.

"Thank god you're here, Bella! I'm having a fashion emergency!"

"A fashion emergency for what, dare I ask?"

She looked at me as though the answer was obvious. "If Jasper's thinking about breaking up with me, I want to look as good as possible to change his mind! Besides, it never hurts to look good."

I shook my head in disbelief as I took in the mess that was once our living room.

After about an hour of deliberating, Alice settled on wearing a short, silky black dress with a pair of black, dangerous looking high heels. She put her hair up in a messy bun with some pieces hanging down. She looked stunning, as usual. She grabbed my arm and half dragged me to her Porsche. It had started to get dark out.

"Hey, I thought I was driving you!"

"You are, but I'm not riding in that _thing _you call a vehicle."

I rolled my eyes and started her car. "Where am I heading, by the way?"

"The park across from the University."

The entire way there, Alice was fidgeting nonstop. Her hands never stopped twisting together, and she was basically hopping in the seat. Her eyes were nervous. In a matter of minutes, we were at the park. I was literally speechless at the sight.

There were hundreds of lights wrapped around the trees, giving a warm glow to the area beneath. Beneath the lights, Jasper was sitting on a large, satin looking blanket in the middle of thousands of rose petals. There was a big grand piano a few feet away from the blanket. I could here light, sweet music coming from it.

Alice ran from the car like a bat out of hell. How she ran in those heels is beyond me. She ran up to Alice. She stopped when she got to him and the bouncing began again. I got out of Alice's car and leaned against the front to watch the show.

I couldn't here what Jasper was saying, but I saw Alice nod every now and then. I saw Jasper get on one knee and pull something from his coat pocket. Her was proposing. I heard Alice shriek "Yes!" and jump at Jasper. They both laid on the blanket and just held each other. It was almost like it was out of a story book.

I glanced away from Alice and Jasper long enough to see who was playing the piano. He looked at me at the same time I looked at him. The corners of his mouth turned up into a crooked grin and winked.


	18. Relaxed

_The corners of his mouth turned up into a crooked grin and he winked._

_Edward? _What was Edward doing here?

Before I could make my way to Edward, Alice was in front of me. I could see where her tears of joy had streaked her make up. Her smile could have lit up a football stadium.

"Look! Look! Look!" She said, waving her left hand at me. The ring was perfect for her. The diamonds were large and cut very elegantly. It was chic and looked perfect on her hand.

"That's amazing, Alice!" I wrapped her in a big hug. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks, Bella. Can you give me the keys to the Porsche? Jasper and I are going to stay here for a little while. Edward offered to drive you home."

Speaking of Edward, I wanted to find out how he fit into this whole thing. I handed Alice her keys and made my way to the piano. His fingers were still moving across the keys, bringing a sweet melody across the park. As I got closer, Edward became more defined. I could see he was wearing a black turtle neck and a pair of jeans. He looked great.

I propped an elbow on the piano and looked at him. "I hear your going to be my chauffeur."

Edward chuckled. " My cars across the street."

Edward and I walked to his car in silence. I decided to wait until we started driving to ask how he knew Jasper. Edward opened my door for me then walked around to get in himself. Once he pulled out, I began the interrogation.

"You know Jasper?" I inquired.

"Yes. Jasper had an older sister, Rosalie. I have an older brother, Emmett, who has been dating Rosalie for quite some time now. He mentioned to Emmett and I that he was going to propose to his girlfriend today and wanted someone to play piano. I gladly offered to play for him."

I nodded. "That was really sweet for Jasper to do all that. Alice had no idea what was going on. She actually thought that he was going to break up with her."

Edward laughed a little. "So where am I taking you?"

"Aren't we just going to go home?"

"Well, It's not too late. We could go somewhere or do something before I take you home."

"That would be fine. What did you have in mind?"

Edward thought for a moment. "Would you like to go to the movies?"

"Sure."

Edward drove to the local theater. We decided to go see a comedy. Edward, of course, insisted on paying. A couple minutes into the movie, Edward grabbed hold of my hand. He laced his fingers with mine and rubbed small circles on the back of my hand. Although it kind of went against what I told him earlier, I kept my hand entwined with his.

I was watching Edward more than I was watching the movie. The light from the movie screen illuminated Edward's face just right. He was amazing to look at. A small smile played along my lips, because I knew that in a short period of time Edward would be mine.

When the movie was over, Edward drove me home. We engaged in a little small talk and when I left he gave me a friendly hug goodbye. It made me happy that he wasn't trying to push any limits that I had set. I got out from the car and ran up the steps to the apartment. I opened the apartment door and stepped inside.

Tanya was sitting with Alice, talking animatedly. As soon as Alice spotted me, she waved her hand frantically for me to join them. Alice wanted me to be her maid of honor. Although I wasn't very fond of weddings. Weddings meant dresses, heals, a lot of shopping, and most importantly it meant Alice would plan it. I gladly agrees to be Alice's made of honor. Tanya and Rosalie would both be bridesmaids. I wasn't about to tell Alice it was a little early to decide these things, she'd probably have everything set and ready for the end of the month.

After I escaped from Alice, I went to sleep. I didn't have work tomorrow, but I did have some classes. I woke up around ten and got dressed quickly for class. Alice was probably up for hours by now with starbucks. When I walked into the kitchen, not only did Alice have Starbucks, but she also had some shopping bags.

"Don't you ever sleep?" I asked, shocked.

"Of course I slept! But, I had to go shop. One of the new lingerie lines came out today! I bought some for you and Tanya too!" Alice answered, tossing me a bag.

I opened the bag and took a peak inside. Most of it was satin or lace, and would barely cover anything.

"The sad part is you really expect me to wear these."

Alice nodded her head wildly. "Of course I do! All of it will look great on you, I promise!"

I walked from Alice to my room where I emptied the contents of the bag on my bed. Once I got a second look at all, some of it was actually wearable. However, there were a few things I had no use for.

I mean, what was the point for see-through underwear? There was none, which was exactly _my_ point.

I returned from my room having put all my new lingerie away. Alice handed me a caramel frappacino and I was off to school.

There was a lot to do today at school. The professors were loading us with work left and right. I was exhausted when I finally returned home. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took a seat to watch TV. For once in the past week, I had nothing to do. A day all to myself. I took a big drink of water and tried to take advantage of my free day and relax.


	19. Wasted

My story has gotten a lot more popular than I ever imagined, I love yous guys!

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_I took a big drink of water and tried to take advantage of my free day and relax._

Of course, living with Alice I should have realized it wouldn't be possible. About five minutes after I sat down, Alice came tumbling through the doors, arms full of shopping bags.

"Get up, Bella! We're going out!" Alice shrieked throwing her bags on the couch.

"Oh, no! Alice, come on! I was planning to relax."

Alice just shook her head. "We're going out!"

I sighed, "To where"

"The new club that's opening up, La Push!"

"La Push? What the hell kind of name is that?"

"No idea! Let's go get ready!"

"Wait. Who are we going with."

"Well, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, Tanya, Marcus..."

"Who's Marcus?" I interrupted.

"Tanya's new flavor of the week. And..." She hesitated.

"And?"

"Edward."

"Alice, why does it always seem like when you know I don't want to go somewhere, you always drop the bomb that Edward is going to be there? "

"Because that's exactly what I do!" Alice giggled.

I rolled my eyes at her and extended my arm for the bags she threw my way. She gave me three and I took my time inspecting the contents. I don't know what possessed Alice to think I would wear the tight , blue, strapless , mini- dress. She was quickly forgiven when I opened the next bag, containing matching flats. In the last bag was a bunch of make-up, which I knew Alice would be the one applying it on my face.

I went grudgingly into my room to change. I put on my dress and shoes to present myself to Alice. She smiled a little, but then it went away and she dragged me into her and Tanya's bathroom. I spent the next hour and a half under the expert hands of Alice. She brushed, sprayed, and styled her way "through that mess". Then came the make-up.  
I looked amazing afterwards. I always did when Alice got me ready.

I moped around the last hour waiting for Alice to finish. I was really nervous. Since we settled everything, I only saw him once. And even then I could feel my attraction towards him. If we wanted to stick to the plan, it was going to take _a lot _of determination.

I began to pace the room. Alice came from her room looking beautiful as always in a short black dress with a thick red belt around her middle, emphasizing her petite waste. Tanya followed behind her looking dazzling in a short jean skirt with a tight green tube top and matching wedges.

"And, we're off!" she called, grabbing her keys.

I followed her almost as easily as I would if I had dressed myself since she got me flats. Almost, because that dress was really tight. I was too blind sighted by the flats. I could tough the night out.

To calm my nerves, Alice and I sang songs on our way to La Push. Little Red Corvette by Prince was just ending as we pulled into the parking lot. I was no longer nervous as we entered the bar. It had a tropical theme, there were fake palm trees and vines but it wasn't corny or too theatrical. It was spacious and had a really nice atmosphere.

"Do you think you'll have a fun time?" Tanya asked me.

I nodded. "Yes, I think I will."

Right after I answered Tanya, I heard someone shout "Alice, over here!"

I looked towards Alice and Tanya, who in turn began walking towards the voice. I followed her to a table. There were four men and a woman sitting at a large table. Everybody else was deep in conversation except for Jasper, who had turned around to look lovingly at Alice.

"Come sit." He said, pulling the chair out next to him.

Tanya had already took a seat by Marcus and joined in the discussion.

Once Edward saw Tanya sit down, he looked up at me. He gave me a large smile and stood up. He looked absolutely delectable in a black t-shirt that seemed to fit him perfectly. His jeans were the usual style, fitted but not too tight. His hair was like it always was, sticking up on end and his green eyes seemed to glow at me. I stopped staring at him like he was a fine piece of steak and sat in the seat he pulled out for me, right next to him. I smiled timidly and glanced around the table.

Alice was practically in Jasper's lap, playing with his hair. Tanya was with her date, Marcus, just chatting. Marcus was the usual Tanya type: tall, lean, handsome. She'd be done with him in five days, tops. The other couple who, from what Alice told me earlier, was Rosalie and Emmet.

Rosalie looked like a movie star. Her long blonde locks were curled loosely around a face that could hardly be described. Her light blue eyes were popping from behind smokey eye shadow. She was wearing a fire-engine red dress, tighter than even mine. It hugged every curve. Although she was sitting, I could see that she was very tall.

Quite a few men were whistling and staring at her behind them, but that didn't matter because the man sitting beside her looked like he could put a bull in a headlock. He was really ripped, but not steroids ripped. He had short curly brown hair and the cutest dimples.

I looked away from the table long enough to see Edward gazing at me. I had a feeling he'd been staring at me for quite a while.

"What?" I asked, nervously.

"Nothing, you just...you look very pretty." Edward said.

I blushed and smile timidly. "Thanks. So do you."

Edward laughed, and I realized I had just called him pretty. Oh well, it was true enough.

Alice ordered us drinks and we all began to talk about Alice and Jasper's wedding. Our drinks came and I took a hesitant sip. Alice usually ordered me strange, exotic things that tasted horrid. But, whatever she ordered me today was really good. Before I knew it, I was on my third drink of the night. Whenever it was empty, some woman would come and replace it, not that I was complaining.

Somehow Tanya had convinced me to hit the dance floor, indicating I was a wee bit tipsy. Tanya and I danced for a little while and were soon joined by Marcus and Edward. Edward danced behind me, gripping my hips and moving slowly behind me at a distance. Normally, I wouldn't grind with Edward, but I was too buzzed to care. I backed up and put my body against his.

I moved my body against his with a finesse that didn't exist when I was sober. I felt Edward's grip tighten along my waist . I closed my eyes and continued to dance. Edward's breath had sped up considerably and I knew we were going to stop dancing soon. He stopped my hips from swaying with his hands and we just stood there on the dance floor for a little while he settled down.

After a moment, Edward grabbed my hand and led me back to the table. Edward pulled my chair out for me before slumping into his own. He pinched the bridged of his nose and leaned down to talk quietly with me.

"I'm trying to keep my word and be on a friend level with you. But, I can't do it without you being on your best behavior. I almost couldn't stand it out there."

I felt terrible. "I understand, I'm sorry."

Edward chuckled. "It's fine. I didn't know you could move like that. When everything is done with Victoria, you owe me a dance" He said with a wink.

I blushed and finished off another drink.

The rest of the evening went in a blur. As I sobered up, I remembered chatting a bit with everyone, Emmet almost punching some guy that grabbed Rosalie's ass, and Edward chastising Alice for whatever she ordered me to drink. I remembered Alice driving Tanya and I home and eventually throwing up in the bathroom.

All in all, it wasn't that pleasant of a night for me. I shudder to think what I did or said at the club. Especially with Edward there. I groaned and rolled over in my bed. I eventually drifted off to sleep.


	20. Hangover

_I eventually drifted off to sleep._

Everything was too bright when I woke up. I squinted from the sun gleaming into my room. My head was _pounding_. It was sincerely the headache of all headaches.

"Hangovers." I sighed glumly.

I examined myself in the mirror. Not only were my eyes bloodshot, but I had a black eye. Now_ how _did I manage that? I groaned and checked the rest of me for random bruises. I had a big bruise on the side of my leg, but other than that everything was alright. Or so I thought.

I had work today. _Damn it._ I couldn't call in sick because Alice told me before we left last night that she had wedding stuff to plan with Jasper. They just got engaged and she was already planning like the wedding was set for next month. Yet knowing Alice, it probably was. I popped two Advil and began to dress.

I decided to try and cover me as much as possible. I put on a hoodie and one of my favorite pair of jeans. I also put on a pair of huge sunglasses to try and mask the majority of my face. I was already four hours late. Today was _not_ my day.

I got in my car and drove like Alice to work. There were a few people exiting the music shop when I got in. I got out from my car and opened the door to the shop. Edward was sitting at the register. He was leaning on the counter with a hand under his face. He looked amazing, as always, and I had to refrain from smiling. There was something about him that always seemed to plaster a grin on my face. I noticed his expression was not angry, but amused. I walked slowly up to the register and gave him a slight wave.

"Ah, she has awoken!" Edward said in a mock hallelujah tone.

"Yes, I have. Sorry, I'm late."

Edward chuckled. "I didn't even expect you to show up. You were annihilated."

" Really, After about the first hour most of it is a blur. I don't even want to think about it."

Edward full out laughed. "Good. It's probably best that nobody tells you what happened. Although, If you see Emmett, I'm sure he'll inform you against your will."

"Even though I'm most likely going to regret it, tell me what happened."

Edward reminded about dancing. I vaguely remembered it and I blushed when he further described it. He kept laughing at my expression, and although he was telling the truth, I knew he was doing it to make me blush. He told me about the situation with Emmett and the man who grabbed Rosalie. But, the part I didn't know was that somebody punched the guy. But, it wasn't Emmett. It was Rosalie. She wasn't one to trifle with. Apparently, I hit the dance floor later that night with Alice. I didn't even want to hear the description of me dancing, drunk out of my mind. According to Edward, we were only there for about an hour after that before Alice insisted taking me home.

"And that's all?" I asked when he was finished.

"Sort of..." Edward said, and then he did the unthinkable. He blushed!

"Edward. You're blushing." I told him, causing his blush to enhance to an even darker shade.

"I don't think I should tell you."

I slapped a hand to my head, and instantly regretted it. "Yow!"

Edward laughed and his blush left. He seemed a little bit calmer on the subject so I continued the discussion.

"Why not?"

"Hm?"

"You said 'I don't think I should tell you.' and I said 'Why not?"

Edward exhaled noticeably. " Because, it would embarrass you and probably make you uncomfortable."

"Oh jeez." I contemplated for a moment and decided I needed to know. "Yes. Tell me."

"Well, I won't go into detail but you'll get the gist of it..." He paused for a couple seconds, probably thinking how to phrase it to make it sound better. "You were kind of...touchy aaaaaand..." He said, drawing the word out. The next words came out in a rush. "You seemed to want to...come back to my place."

No matter how you rephrase that, believe me, it doesn't sound any better.

"Was I only telling you that?"

"You were attempting to only tell me that... but your whispering was hardly a whisper. Everyone heard, but they'll most likely pretend they didn't hear."

I groaned. It was a good thing I still had the sunglasses on. I didn't want him to see the embarassment in my eyes, though he could probably see it on my cheeks. The worst part was that I really did want that. Even now. But, I'd never suggest it. It's totally unappropraite for the situation we're in, and even after. I've known him for about two weeks, and yet I would like to "go back to his place". I shoved the thoughts from my mind and continued our conversation.

"And that's all?" I asked, worriedly.

"I believe so."

I sighed in relief and Edward chuckled.

"I know I promised not to go into detail, but you should have heard some of the things you were saying." He chuckled.

"That bad?" I asked.

"Not bad, just...amusing. I recall you saying something about 'recreating the desert war, except I wouldn't need to take a shower, because you'd clean me up with your mouth'."

I hid my face in my hands.

"It's alright, really."

"You expected me not to be embarassed?"

"No, I kind of figured you would be."

I sighed and Edward brought up a new topic.

"Why are you wearing sunglasses? It's cloudy outside plus you're indoors."

I shook my head. "Believe me, you don't want to know."

"Oh right, hangover." He said, nodding sympathetically.

"Yes and no."

"No? Why 'no'?"

"Well, there's something else. But, I don't want to show you."

"Well, I want to see." Edward stated and leaned over the counter.

He gently pulled the sunglasses from my face. I cringed as the light momentarily blinded me. I heard Edward gasp as he checked out my eye. He pressed his fingers lightly beneath my eyes and up near my eyebrow.

"What happened?" He asked, flabergasted.

"To be honest, I have no idea. Alice probably does though."

"You didn't get in a fight, did you?"

"No. I know I didn't get in a fight, but I don't know what _did _happen."

He sighed heavily and leaned forward, pressing his lips lightly around my eye. They were soft and warm and roamed back and forth around my eye for a little. It felt nice, but it also felt like we were crossing that friend/more than friend line.

"Edward..." I warned.

He backed away and apologized. He really couldn't help it. He sincerely cared, and I could see how much it was bothering him that he couldn't exactly be more than a friend for me at the moment.

"I'd love to stick around, but I was informed that I was not expected to show up today. So I must be off." I told him, turning away.

He chuckled. "Have fun with that hangover!" He called as I walked towards the door.

As I opened the door and walked out, I heard him call again.

"Looking forward to our next desert fight!"


	21. Chagrin

"_Looking forward to our next desert fight!"_

I mulled over Edward's last few comments as I drove back home. He was probably having just as much trouble as I was. I , for one, would be ecstatic when the week was done. Three days down, four to go.

I got home in time to see Alice on Jasper's lap, talking to Tanya which reminded me, I had questions I needed answered. Before I could open my mouth, Alice spoke.

"Did you and Edward have another 'desert fight' at work?" Alice snickered.

I blushed crimson. I was pretty sure that was a rhetorical question.

"Or when she told him she wasn't wearing any underwear?" Tanya stated.

"She slurred it rather than told it. But, you totally were wearing underwear." Alice replied.

"Oh, how about when she told Edward to meet her in the bathroom in five minutes?" Tanya cut in.

I frowned. Edward didn't tell me that bit. To save me from further embarrassment, I'd assume.

" You have quite the imagination, Bella, I'll give you that. Who new you could talk so dirty?" Alice giggled. Jasper had been quiet. He wasn't laughing along with the others until Alice threw in that part.

"Honestly, the only thing funnier than you drunk was how Edward reacted when you were telling him all this. He was constantly running a hand threw his hair or pinching the bridge of his nose. I'm surprised he didn't take of your bathroom proposition." Jasper chuckled.

"Or the car proposition." Alice giggled.

"Or the closet proposition." Tanya added.

I groaned, and put my face in my hands. Thank god I heard this from them. I can see why Edward wouldn't want to repeat it... Anyways, I had matter to attend to. So I uncovered my face and took off my sunglasses.

"Why do I have this?" I asked pointing to my eye.

Alice and Tanya both gasped, then laughed for a long while before I interrupted.

"Cut it, hyenas. I want to know why I looked like I got my ass kicked."

Alice giggled a little before answering. "Well, we decided to take you home after you embarassed yourself for a while before proceeding to fall asleep on Edward's shoulder. He wanted to take you home and make sure you got to bed alright, but we were afraid that if you woke up you might rip his clothes off. So, He picked you up and put you in our car. You stayed asleep the whole ride home and we didn't want to wake you. So me and Tanya decided to try and carry you up..."

"Try?" I asked.

Tanya nodded. "We tried really hard. We only dropped you like five, maybe six times."  
"Once we finally made it up to the room, We tried to place you up right so we could just push you onto the bed." Alice said, imitating a pushing motion.

"We probably should have suspected you would have fell down." Tanya said.

" So, you began to fall and I tried to catch you. And, in the process, kneeing you in the eye. "Alice finished.

"It didn't look bad once we finally got you into bed. You didn't even wake up." Tanya said.

I shook my head in disbelief. "That was one crazy night, wasn't it?"

Alice, Tanya, and Jasper just laughed. I couldn't help but join in. Yeah, I made a huge fool of myself but I probably had a good time doing it. I was used to be embarassed. This was nothing new.

My head was still pounding, but it had eased up a bit since this morning. Alice and Jasper left and Tanya headed out also.

I just made it to my room when my cell began to ring. I opened it without looking at the screen.

"Hello?"

"Hey." It was Edward's silky voice coming through the phone.

I smiled. "What's going on?"

"I was just about to ask you that."

"Well, nothing is going on here."

He chuckled. "How's the hangover."

"Better."

He chuckled again. "Did you find out what happened to your eye?"

I sighed. "Yes, Alice accidentally kneed me in the face."

"What?" He asked. Disbelief throughout his voice.

"Honestly, that's what happened. It's quite a long story that involved Alice and Tanya trying to carry me up to bed."

"I knew I should have went with them to make sure everything was alright."

I blushed. It was a good thing this was a phone conversation. "I don't blame them.." I mumbled.

"Why not?"

I sighed again. " You made it sound like I wasn't too bad, but as soon as I got home I was bombarded by Alice and Tanya."

There was a moment of silence before Edward spoke again. "I'm sorry. I didn't really think you'd want to know."

"Oh, I didn't. It was all against my will."

Edward laughed humorlessly. "Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal. I was just wondering if you wanted to do something?"

"Maybe tomorrow. I really don't want to do anything today. Plus, I'd need Alice to see what she could make of my eye."I told him honestly.

"Alright, I'll call you tomorrow."

"Bye." I said and hung up the phone. I watched a little television before deciding to take a nap. To make up for my black eye, I wanted to wow Edward tomorrow on our date. I was going to do the unthinkable. I was going to ask Alice to take me shopping.


	22. Emmett

I was going to ask Alice to take me shopping.

Alice pulled me into store, after store, after store. She even wore shoes without heals, which proved this was going to be one intense shopping experience. Alice was in the zone, and would not rest until I found my perfect outfit. And then some. You'd think I was getting a whole new wardrobe instead of looking for clothes for a date. I was so tired of trying on clothes.

I cursed as another dress came flying into my dressing room. I pulled the soft material over my body and pranced from the room to show Alice. Alice pursed her lips and shook her head no. I clenched my fists and walked back in my dressing room to try on the other numerous outfits that hadn't gotten the boot yet from Alice.

And_ finally,_We found clothes for me to wear on my date with Edward. Finally, meaning when the mall closed. Alice would never waste valuable mall time, or the opportunity to try and transform me into some kind of fashion mogul. We got into the car and I took off my shoes, rubbing my feet. Who would have guessed that walking around the mall can turn out to be so painful?

"You'll thank me later." Alice said solemnly.

"Yeah, yeah." I muttered.

I wasn't about to complain. I didn't have to ask her, but I wanted to because I knew she'd be a great help. Alice new her way around the clothing racks. Plus, I new what I was getting into before I even asked.

We got home and unpacked the trunk, and then the back seats, and then a few from under our feat in the front. It took multiple trips to get the bags up and through the elevator, but we managed. When I got into our apartment, Tanya announced that Edward had called while I was gone.

I quickly ran to the phone, dropping all of my bags at Alice's feet. It was actually a funny sight. Alice was standing in the doorway, weighed down by multiple shopping bags and had even more stacked in front of her. She was almost totally obscured by the shopping bags.

I dialed the number and waited for Edward to pick up.

" Ello?" The voice was slightly muffled and I couldn't exactly tell if it was Edward.

"Edward?" I asked.

"Nope." The voice answered. There was a slight pause and then whoever it was spoke again. "What are you wearing?"

If I were drinking anything, I probably would have spit it out. "Excuse me?"

Suddenly I heard a loud crash, and then some shouting. It was in the background, but I could tell it was him. Although I never heard him raise his voice before.

_"Emmett! Give me the damn phone!" _I heard Edward shout.

"God, Edward. Lighten up. I'm having an important conversation."

_"Shut up, Emmett, and give me the phone. I heard the ring tone!"_

_I heard Emmet chuckle. "Oh yeah, I forgot your ring tone for Bella was Fever for the Flava by Hot Action Cop."_

Before I could gasp and blush. Edward was yelling again and I heard some more loud crashes.

_"It is not!"_

Emmett laughed again before starting to sing. " Do you think I could get some jiggy jiggy-"

"_Emmett"_ growled Edward.

"Maybe gets a little finger sticky sticky-"

I heard another loud crash and Emmett laugh.

"-And did I mention, hey pay attention. Gonna take that bootie to nudie dimension!-"

_"Emmett!"_ Edward hissed. He was clearly not amused.

Emmett continued to sing."-I'm your lovey dovey bedtime player. Call me the super sexy boogie man slayer!-"

I could picture Edward pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Atleast someone has a sense of humor!" Emmett yelled.

_"I have a sense of humor, your just not funny." _Edward replied indignantly.

"Beeeeellaaaa seems to think so." Emmett said. He said my name like a taunt and I heard another crash.

_"Give me the phone, Emmett."_

"Come get it, 'super sexy boogie man slayer'."

"_Shut the hell up. Besides, that's probably your song for Rosalie." _Edward scoffed.

_Suddenly everything got really quiet and then I heard Edward laugh loudly._

_"It is, isn't it?"_

Emmett didn't reply to Edward. Instead he mumbled something under his breath about 'being a better ring tone than that weird classical shit.'

A second later, Edward's voice rang through the phone.

"Hi, Bella." Edward said, sheepishly.

I couldn't help but giggle. "Hello. Sorry I didn't call back earlier, Alice took me shopping."

Although Edward had only known us for a short time, he knew how insane Alice was. "Oh, wow. I'm sorry." He replied sincerely.

I couldn't help but laugh again. "It's fine."

"I just wanted to let you know that I will pick you up tomorrow at eight."

"Okay."

"And, if you can, please try and forget everything Emmett said."

I laughed. " Alright 'Super sexy boogie man slayer'." I could practically see Edward scowl but I couldn't help it. I laughed a little before apologizing.

"Oh, believe me Bella. You'll get yours. Emmett hasn't forgotten about the other night at the bar."

At that I blushed, and it was almost like Edward knew. I could hear him chuckle in the phone. In the background I heard Emmett start to talk in some terrible interpretation of my voice. _"Edward, I'm not wearing any panties."_

Now it was my turn to scowl. "I'll see you tomorrow." I grumbled into the phone.

Edward chuckled a little longer. "Bye, Bella."

I hung up the phone and continued to scowl. Would there be any way to redeem myself of the humiliation? There will be no more senseless drinking around Edward. Ever.

Alice spent the rest of the night trying different makeup techniques on my black eye. We tried everything, but nothing seemed to cover it. I was really hoping Alice would figure something out, but all she could suggest was that we style my hair over it. I declined. I'd like to be able to see with both eyes for the night. Eventually, Alice and I gave up and went to bed.


	23. Interrupted

_Eventually, Alice and I gave up and went to bed._

When I woke up, I couldn't help but smile. Two more days until Edward and I could officially date. Only two more days of being in the friend zone until I could kiss him silly. I was really looking forward to these two days passing as quickly as possible.

Since the day would be mostly mine, I slept in longer than normal. I didn't get out of bed until around noon. I felt very relaxed and soothed for the day until I got to the bathroom. My eye was still somewhat black, but there was more of a yellowish tint in some places. I groaned out loud. I could only hope Edward wasn't planning on going anwhere with a lot of people. _But then again... After recent events, the more people the better_. I thought to myself.

I still couldn't believe that I embarrassed myself like that. Then again, I've never found a guy to affect me like Edward had. He was just _dazzling. _I sighed, thinking about Edward's unruly hair and deep green eyes. I decided to take a nice long bubble bath.

I wasn't in there long before the door burst open and Alice came bustling through.

"It's time to get ready, Bella" Alice yelped, hopping around the bathroom.

"Alice, It's noon!" I whined.

"Try twenty after." Alice corrected me and sounded quite solemn, as if it were a depressing fact.

I couldn't help but shake my head in disbelief.

"Sit up, so I can wash your hair." Alice commanded.

As usual, I obliged to avoid an argument with Alice that I ,ultimately ,wouldn't win. Besides, who doesn't want to have their hair washed for them every now and then?

Once Alice finished washing my hair, she told me to get out and meet her in her room. When I got to her room, I was assaulted with hair spray and ,to my utter horror, glitter. Alice must have seen the look on my face because she told me to "Lighten up. You look like I'm massacring your family."

After about two hours under Alice's tiny hands and a curling iron, I was starving. Alice ordered some Chineese and Alice, Tanya, and I gathered around the television to watch some movies and put the final touches on my appearance.

At 6:30, after a number of movies Alice took me to do my make-up and make sure I dressed in the outfit she picked out. I slipped on the dark green sweater that matched Edward's eyes with a pair of black dress pants and the dark green flats. The make-up Alice put on me matched my outfit and even with my black eye, I felt like I looked good.

It was 7:50 when the door bell rang. Alice was jumping up and down to attempt to look through the peep hole. After a couple seconds, Tanya pushed Alice out of the way and opened the door. Of course, Edward was there early, looking quite dashing, as always. I couldn't help the laugh that followed as I appraised his outfit.

"We match." I told him, answering the puzzled expression on his face.

Which we sort of did. Edward was wearing a dark green button down, but he had tan pants on instead of black. When Edward realized this he chuckled too.

" So, you're ready to go?" Edward asked.

I nodded and took his hand as we stepped out of the door.

"I figured that I would cook for you tonight." He stated, giving my hand a slight squeeze.

"It's actual food, right?" I asked thinking about the last time food was involved at his apartment...

Edward gave out a little laugh. "Yes, actual food."

Being the gentleman that he is, Edward opened the passenger door of his silver Volvo and I slid in. I couldn't wait for the night that was about to begin.

We got to Edward's apartment soon enough. I could smell something delicious in the air. I love food, and I couldn't help but anticipate dinner. Edward seated me at his small dining table that had the dishes all laid out. There was also a tiny vase with a flowers in it and some candles.

"Edward. This is a dinner between friends. That means no flowers and you must get rid of the candles. There will be no 'mood' to set." I scolded.

Edward gave me a small, sad smile and cleared off the table except for the plates, glasses and utensils. I sat down and waited as Edward served the food. I inhaled the food deeply as Edward placed some spaghetti on the plate in front of me. It smelled incredible.

"My expertise in the kitchen is quite limited." Edward told me as he took a seat across from me.

I took a small bite of the pasta. It was as good as it smelled. "Well, it's delicious."

"I'll convey the compliments to my mother." Edward replied.

I laughed. " Your mom made this?"

"When I meant my expertise in the kitchen was limited, I meant it. It's pretty much limited to breakfast foods."

"Like pancakes?"

"Not really... More like Lucky Charms and milk." Edward further explained.

I laughed and dug in to the dish before me.

Edward and I ate and chatted for quite some time. We were in no hurry for this dinner to end. Edward's mother was a very good cook and the I enjoyed learning new things about Edward.

I often caught myself watching his mouth move as he talked or looking into his green eyes. I noticed how his eyes seemed to glitter when he was talking about something he loved, like music. I could have sworn I caught him giving me the same look, but I couldn't be sure. After all, we only knew each other for a short amount of time. I couldn't expect him to love me already.

Could I?

It was undeniable how strongly I felt for Edward. But, was it love? I've never felt like this about anybody else. That was sure. It could be love. But I couldn't be sure... Maybe--

My thoughts were interrupted by the door opening.

I looked to the door and saw Edward turn towards the door out of my peripheral vision.

"Edward! I'm home!" A joyous, soprano voice called from the door.

I saw a number of huge travel bags drop to the floor as a red-headed knock out stepped from behind the opened foor. Her violet eyes flicked towards the scene in the kitchen, which was clear from the door.

"Who the hell is _she_?"

* * *

Sorry for the long awaits between chapters! I've been pretty busy and following chapters are more likely to take longer than usual.


	24. Victoria

"Who the hell is she?!"

I'm positive she wasn't as shocked as I was. She had long, curly red hair that framed her lightly freckled face. Her eyes were the color of ocean, deep blue. her body was long and lean, toned yet curvy. Despite the rage that twisted her features, she was unmistakably gorgeous. Somehow it made Edward's story so long ago seem like utter bullshit. How could he want to be with me? I was practically a leper compared to her.

I finally closed my jaw that had dropped when she first came in. I snuck a glance at Edward who seemed to be just as shocked as me.

"Is anybody going to answer me?!" She shrieked.

What could I say? _Oh yes, I would be the girl your boyfriend is planning on leaving you for. It's a pleasure to meet you._

Finally Edward spoke. "Victoria-"

"Leave." Victoria interrupted Edward and directed it to me. I stood up, ready to leave. I didn't want to be around any longer than necessary with this woman who looked fully intent on slitting my throat and drinking my blood.

"No, Victoria. She won't leave. This is my house." Edward told her, placing a hand on my wrist and leading me back into my chair. He sent me an apologetic, agonized look. I just looked at my lap. I felt terrible. Although his relationship with Victoria was more parasitic than beneficial, I couldn't help but feel like we had been running around behind her back. Even though we never really kissed, besides the very few slip ups, our meetings would totally have been considered dates. We went about the entire thing the wrong way. I would need to speak to Edward about this later, so long as I walked out of this debacle alive.

I chanced a look at Victoria. She was sending daggers at me.

I didn't know what to do or say. There wasn't anything I could say. The only thing I could even do would be leave, which Edward didn't want and to be honest I didn't really want to either. I needed to know everything was cleared up.

"Victoria, this is Bella-"

"Bitch." She cussed at me.

I was quite shocked. She didn't know who I even was, yet she felt inclined to begin cursing me. What if I was a cousin of his or something?

"Victoria!" Edward yelled exasperatedly. He took a deep breath and began again. 'We need to talk."

She chuckled humorlessly. "That's rich. You tell me we need to talk when I catch you with another woman."

"We were having dinner, Victoria. It's not a crime. What if this was somebody I worked with, or for? What if this was my boss you just insulted? Besides, this has been long time coming."

Victoria said nothing. She just took her glare from me and shot it at Edward.

"Alright. So you're leaving me?" Victoria asked, with her chin high.

"Yes."

"And your not leaving me for her? She's your boss right?"

"Well..." Edward trailed off. Victoria didn't repeat herself. She just waited for him to answer her questions. She continued looking at him until he continued.

"Techinically, I'm her boss. And yes, I am kind of leaving you for her. But believe me, I should have ended this a long time ago."

Victoria's face hadn't changed from the murderous expression that was there since she arrive. But I'm positive she got angrier with this new information.

Victoria reached over and grabbed something next to her. "Bastard!" She yelled at Edward, throwing the object accross the room. The object flew past his head and smashed behind us somewhere.

"Victoria-" He started before something else whooshed past his head.

"Knock it off!" He bellowed.

Even when he was angry, he sounded hot.

A few more objects whizzed past, one successfully hit Edward. Right on the side of his face. That was the end of Mr. Nice, Understanding Edward.

"Leave Victoria." When she made no move towards the door, Edward added "NOW!"

She marched straight towards Edward and kicked him in the groin. Once Edward fell to the ground, Victoria walked away, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Well, that went well." I muttered as I reached down to try and help Edward off the ground. But by the looks of that kick, he'd be there a while.


	25. Silence

_But by the looks of that kick, he'd be there a while._

I attempted to lift Edward up off the ground. I stopped trying when I seen his pained expression. I doubt I was helping any. After quite a few more minutes, Edward slowly rose from the ground. He took a seat in the chair by the table we previously ate at. I sat across in the other chair. I didn't know what to say. Was there anything to say? How about, _Why, yes, that was a hefty kick to the groin?_

Edward wasn't saying anything either. I could tell he was deep in thought by the way his eyes narrowed and his mouth was set in a straight line. This worried me. Wasn't everything supposed to be grand now? Weren't we supposed to be happy and finally together?

I stared down into my lap, waiting for a lapse in the awkward silence. The tension in the room was palpable, and I couln't begin to understand why.

I felt like we had been sitting there for hours, but in reality is was probably more like 20 minutes. But still, 20 minutes in silence is quite a lot. Maybe I was just overthinking it all. I'm sure that was it.

I chanced a look up at Edward. His features hadn't softened and he still wasn't looking at me. He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but closed it instead. I couldn't just sit there anymore.

I rose from my chair and Edward's eyes rose to me. "I think I should go..." I muttered. Edward simply nodded. I didn't want to be in his house anymore. I could tell he was waiting for me to leave, but he seemed to forget an important aspect. " Since you picked me up, are you going to drive me back? Or should I call Alice?" I asked.

Edward stood up and grabbed his keys off the counter, silently answering my question. He walked ahead and opened the door, leaving it open and continued walking. I closed the door behind me when I left and followed Edward to the Volvo. For the first time since I met him, he didn't try to open my door for me. Not that I usually cared, but it was a big hint that something was deffinitely not right.

He didn't say anything as he drove, nor did he turn on the music.

It was strange. I've never seen this part of his personality before.

Thankfully, I got home quick. As soon as the car was stopped, I opened the door and left. As soon as I got inside the building, I heard the car drive away.

I made my way upstairs and into the apartment. Alice and Tanya were both their looking expectant for details. As soon as they took in my expression, their's changed.

"What happened?" Alice asked.

"Are you alrigt?"" Tanya asked.

I didn't reply I just walked right past them. I locked myself in my room, and put my head down.

Morning came quicker than I thought. I hadn't gotten the best nights sleep, but I was rested enough.

I entered the kitchen. Alice and Tanya were sipping starbucks and slid mine across the table.

"What did everyone get today?" I asked, hoping to start some conversation.

"You have an Iced Chai Tea, Tanya has got a Soy Vanilla Latte, and I have a Blended Carmel Frappacino with extra carmel." Alice rattled off.

They both look expectantly at me. Waiting. Tanya must have decided we weren't going to get anywhere if she didn't ask.

"So...what happened?"

I retold the nights events. I didn't leave out a single detail. When I finished, Alice began speaking.

"So, Edward wouldn't let you know what was going on?"

"Correct."

"And then you came home and pulled the same shit with us."

It wasn't a question. But I answered anyways. "Correct."

"We gave you some time, and you eventually told us what was going on. Give him some time, I'm sure he'll come around eventually."

I nodded and took a sip of my drink. I didn't mind giving him some time, but I'd been waiting around for a while now. I had to wait til he broke things off with Victoria. And even though he had done that, I was still waiting. I wasn't going to wait around forever, though.


	26. Spontaneous

I know, I know it's been a long while! I'm sorry!

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_I wasn't going to wait around forever, though._

I tried not to think about what happened that night, but I was still bothered. I couldn't grasp why he'd act like that. Wasn't everything supposed to be wonderful now? We didnt have to worry about anything to do with Victoria. She was out of Edward's life.

And even if he did come around, what then? Was I going to be angry or would I just let it go? I wasn't going to play the fool, waiting around like a sad puppy for its owner.

But I didn't know what was going on in his head. Edward's always just so.. closed.

There were just too many aspects to consider. I'd cross those bridges when they came into view. For now, I was going to sleep.

It was always a rare day when I wasn't awoken by a giddy Alice jumping on my bed.

Today was no one of thos rare, wonderful days.

I groaned and pulled my covers farther up until they covered my Alice. "Aliiiiice! Get oooout!" I yelled.

"Not today! We have plans."

I pushed the covers down til they were at the foot of my bed and glanced over at my digital clock.

"Alice, what plans could involve being awake at six in the morning?"

"My kind of plans" Alice replied cryptically, still atop my bed.

Just as I began to rub the sleep from my eyes, Tanya came waltzing in. She had a smile plastered on her glowing face. Obviously she wasn't irritated at being woken up this early.

I turned over onto my belly and put my head into my pillow.

"Just go without me!" I said, the pillow muffling my words.

"No can do! Now get those sweet cheeks out of bed!" shrieked Alice as she slapped my ass to further emphasize her point.

I turned over onto my back. "And where are we going?"

"We are going to the beach!" Alice shouted, clapping her hands as the bed moved under do to all the bouncing she was doing.

"Your kidding." The beach was a good four hours away.

Tanya walked over and sat on the opposite side of my bed from where Alice was still bouncing. "I know, it's pretty far but we figured we'd spend the night and come home late tomorrow."

"What brought on this spur of the moment decision?" I asked Alice. Alice was always pulling spur of the moment decisions but something made me think this was more than just a spontaneous trip to the beach.

And I knew I was right when the smile slipped from Alice's face. Tanya must have guessed that I sensed something was up because she put a hand on my shoulder. " We just figured that with what happened yesterday, you could use a day out." Tanya said.

" And we didn't want you sitting around the phone all day." Alice added

Ah, they knew me all too well.

After spending about two merciless hours in the closet with Alice as she packed my bags we finally got out on the road.

The four hours it took to get to the beach consisted of load singing from Tanya's ipod. The entire ride was full of good songs and crazy singing. I couldn't control my laughter when Alice got into some of the harder rock and began to swing her head to the music. It was just wrong. I found myself not worrying about Edward.

As we pulled up to the hotel, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Of course Alice would pick a five-star hotel.

We unpacked the car and walked up to the marble desk. A redhead with thick make-up and what looked like a frozen smile gave us our key. As we passed the indoor pool and gym I culdn't help but notice all the different paintings on the wall. Some where very nice while others were strange. We took our time up the marble stair case but I know we all wanted to sprint to our room. It had been so long since we went to the beach.

It seemed like forever until we got to our rooms. Of course Alice insisted on unpacking and doing hair and make-up before we left.

As I sat in the bathroom while Alice curled my hair, I couldn't help asking a pointless question. "Why are we doing our hair again? We're going to the beach you know."

I braced myself for her routine answer. "You should always look your best."

I sighed and waited until Alice was finished.

It took us another hour to get out of the hotel and into the car. Although the beach was about three blocks away, Alice insisted on driving.

It took us less than five minutes to get to the beach. We grabbed the bags Alice had packed for use at the beach and set out close to the sea, but far enough away from the wet sand. Alice wasn't going to step a foot into the water.

We set out our towels at the right place and pulled our top clothing off. Alice and Tanya left their heals on their feet and put their sunglasses on. I followed suit, but I took of my flip-flops. This seemed to be the only time Alice wasn't opposed to them. The three of us put on some sun-tan lotion. We all laid out in the sun.

After a good fourty-five minutes or so, we flipped over onto our backs. Alice and Tanya undid their straps but I left mine on. They could let the pervs oggle them. I didn't mind tan lines.

We spent most of the time having meaningless chats and eventually left. We were coming back tomorrow anyways, and we wanted to check out some of the bars on the boardwalk. When we got back to the hotel, we realized how burnt we were. We were all red as lobsters, and it was postively painful.

"Alice... let me see the sun-tan lotion you packed" I told her and stuck my open hand out.

Alice rummaged through the beach bags and placed the bottle in my hand. I turned it over and read the back. _Juicy Apple Moisturizer_

"Alice. This is just regular lotion." I pointed out as I gestured to the bottle.

Alice's brow furrowed as she took the bottle from my hand and read the back for herself. "Oh."

Tanya poked her skin and watched as it slowly when fromt white to stark red. She began laughing. At first, Alice and I just stared at her, but we soon joined in. We couldn't help but laugh at our misfortune.

We left to change out of our clothing and meet back into the living room. I went into the one bathroom with my bag and slipped on some pajammas. I couldn't control the urge to check my cell phone, so I did.

And there weren't any missed calls. There weren't any texts. I was very upset, but I did my best to shrug it off and enjoy the rest of the night with my two bestfriends.


	27. Pride

_I was very upset, but I did my best to shrug it off and enjoy the rest of the night with my two bestfriends._

As soon as I took a seat on the couch next to Alice, I began to feel the pain.

The pain from the sunburn, that is.

If Edward wasn't going to bother talking to me, I wasn't going to be upset because of it.

"You know.." Tanya began, "I heard that taking a bath in milk helps sunburn."

Alice gapped in horror at Tanya and I couldn't control my giggles. There was no way Alice was getting into a bath of milk.

"That would just be weird." I managed to squeak out before giggling somemore.

Sometimes I forgot how good it felt to just hang around with Alice and Tanya. Between school, work, and Edward, everything has been a bit hectic.

We turned on the T.V and ordered a movie. In true chick fashion, we settled on the Notebook.

And about an hour and a half later, we were all huddled together crying our eyes out.

Somehow, we all ended up asleep.

I awoke with my feet propped across Alice's chest and my head on Tanya's shoulder. Tanya was just lounging and Alice somehow managed to end up upsidedown.

I wiped the sleep from my eyes and took the opporutnity to run to Starbucks. The three of us deffinitely needed it.

I changed into jeans and a hoodie. It was hot out, but the last thing I needed was more sunburn.

I grabbed my sugnlasses and grabbed Alice's keys and headed out. Without checking my cell phone.

The few minutes of fresh air I got in between getting in and out of the car were refreshing. When I got into Starbucks, I actually just sat around for a little while, taking in the atmosphere. I felt calm for the first time in a little while.

But it was short lived. I grabbed Tanya's, Alice's, and my drink and made my way back to the hotel.

Alice and Tanya were up and practically hopping out of their skin. I slipped my sunglasses on top of my head and placed the drinks on the counter.

Alice and Tanya immediately made a run for their drinks.

Alice took a sip and smiled at me. "You're a life saver."

I smiled back. "So what was all that hopping about?"

It was like I flicked a switch. Alice put down her drink and pulled something from her back pocket.

She covered it with both hands before dropping it in my outstretched palm.

It was my cell phone.

And that could only mean one thing.

Edward called.

Paging through my missed calls just seemed to emphasize just how much he wanted to speak to me. He called about 15 times, one right after the other. And as I held it in my hand, it began to ring again. I just looked at it.

Alice tapped her foot impatiently. "Well? Aren't you going to answer it?"

I ran my fingers over it and shrugged. "I don't know."

"Bella! You've been waiting for him to call for the past few days now!" Tanya said from accross the room.

"Exactly! I've been waiting and waiting for him to call. He just shut me out that night and now all of a sudden he really wants to speak to me. I don't know if I should answer it. I don't even want to answer it! I'm pissed!" With that I turned my phone around and pulled the battery out.

I tossed the disassembled phone and it's parts accross the room.

Alice pursed her lips and took a seat next to me. "How did you feel about Edward before the night when Victoria showed up."

I sighed. "Everything was just... great. I looked forward to seeing him and talking to him. I actually couldn't wait to get up for work in the morning."

"So, he keeps to himself for a few days, and that's it for you two? You're done, because you hit a rough patch?"

"No. That's not it." I told Alice.

"It's not? Then what is it?" She prodded.

"I don't know!" I told her before pinching the bridge of my nose. Then I noticed what I did and removed my hand, instead running my fingers through my hair. I instantly stopped, growling, and shoved my hands in my pockets instead.

"Out of the three of us, I'd assumed that you , most of all, would know that sometimes you need to work things out."

"I do!" I insisted.

"Then prove it!" She hissed. "Right now you're acting pretty immature, If I do say so myself. Relationships take work. There needs to be compromise." She said pointing her finger right in my face.

"Alright, alright!" I said, throwing my hands up in the air.

I stomped accross the room and put my phone back together. I flipped it over and turned it on. "Happy!?" I asked Alice.

She sipped her drink and smiled happily. "Yep!" She said, skipping towards the bedroom.

Unbelievable. She changes moods like I change underwear, I swear.

But, she was undeniably right. It's understandable that I'd be frustrated with what happened, but shouldn't I have given him the chance to talk to me about it when he tried? If Alice hadn't intervined, my phone would have been in pieces for I-don't-know-how-long.

My phone wasn't ringing anymore.. But I did have one voicemail message.

_"I know you're probably angry at me. That's probably an absurd understatement... I just want to talk... So when you get this, I'd really like you to call me...Or don't? I don't know. But I really hope you call."_

It was quick, and obvious he didn't want to leave a voicemail in the first place. Which is understandable. When something even remotely serious is going on, you don't want to have to depend on voicemail to convey it.

His tone seemed desperate, and I knew the longer I waited the worse I'd make him feel.

A part of me felt like _good, he deserved it_

But an even bigger part told me to swallow my pride.


	28. Return

I feel like I don't talk to you guys enough! Thank you all for your wonderful words of encouragement. Whenever I see new reviews, I get really excited. I love hearing from you guys! And surprisingly, i don't think I've gotten a bad review yet! Thank you! Without yous, this story wouldn't have happened. I hope to start replying to some of your reviews as they come along now.

Speaking of reviews, what did you guys think of the movie? I seen it twice, and I absolutely loved it. What did you guys think?

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_But an even bigger part told me to swallow my pride._

I took a deep breath and dialed the phone.

He answered on the first ring.

"Hello?" Edward's tone held a great portion of anticipation.

"Hi." I mumbled quietly.

I could hear him exhale loudly. "About the other-" he began.

"You don't need to explain yourself. I'm sure your reasoning had been good." I interrupted.

"No, no it wasn't. I was just overwhelmed. I shouldn't have shut you out like that and I'm sorry."

"It's alright." and it was. Just goes to show you how useless I am at holding grudges.

"Can I see you?" Edward asked.

"Right now it would be kind of impossible."

"Why?"

"I'm at the beach."

"Th beach?" Edward chuckled.

"Yeah, with really bad sunburn."

For the next hour or two, me and Edward chatted on the phone while Tanya and Alice went out to the boardwalk to do some shopping. After getting off the phone, I took a nap and waited for Alice and Tanya to return. There was no way they were going to let us leave the beach without going to a club.

For once, my theory proved to be incorrect. When Alice and Tanya returned, they were intent on getting back home. I knew it had to do with me and Edward making up. Alice would pass on the chance to go clubbing as long as she got something in return. No doubt would she be expecting to ready me for mine and Edward's next date, as official boyfriend and girlfriend.

The car ride home seemed to drag on and on. I couldn't wait to finally get back and see Edward. When we finally got into town, my stomach was doing backflips. As soon as the car was parked, I was out the door and up the stairs to our apartment. I picked out my phone and called Edward.

I was rewarded, as always, with Edward's dulcet tones. "Hello?"

"I'm back!"

"That's great! Do you want to get together?"

"Where?"

"How about we got see a movie?"

"Sounds good." I hadn't been to the movies in ages. "What time?"

"How about I pick you up in an hour?"

"Sounds great. See you then!"

"Bye, Bella."

When I hung up the phone, I did a little happy dance that I didn't even know I had. Alice has happy dances, not I. But obviously, this was was a special circumstance. Finally, an actual date with Edward where I wouldn't feel inhibited.

Alice and Tanya still weren't up. They were probably having trouble with the bags. I went down the stairs to find Alice sprawled out across the landing with five or six bags in tow. She looked like she was the victim of a brutal shopping attack. I couldn't help laughing as I helped Alice off the stairs and took half the bags from her.

"It's not funny, Bella!" she snapped as we made our way into the apartment.

Tanya waltzed in behind us a plopped her bags down, "Actually, it was. You should have seen yourself. I should have taken a picture. Jasper would have gotten a laugh out of that one."

Alice snarled at us, but didn't say anything else. The last thing Alice would want was for Jasper to see her engulfed with shopping bags. He always tells her she shops too much.

"Speaking of boys..." I began, "Edward's picking me up in about an hour to go to the movies."

Alice smile fadded when she heard the hour part. "An hour?!" she squeaked. "Oh, Bella, We need to hurry."

Alice dragged me to the bathroom where she quickly put my hair in a messy up-do with little tresses sweeping down. She quickly brushed make-up on my eyes and threw a little tube of lip gloss at me. I held it in my hand as she brought me into her room. I was in awe as she rummaged through her entirely-too-full closet. And when she essentially ransacked her closet, she reached under her king sized bed and removed bag after bag from under her bed. She dumped copious amounts of clothing from each. She grabbed a few things and through them at me.

As I was leaving the room, I heard her call out "Wear your lacey bra and underwear!"

I almost ignored her, but past evens all prove one thing: Alice knows best.

I grabbed my bra and underwear out of my room and tossed them on before glancing down at what Alice chose. There was a denim mini skirt and a silky dark blue top.

I grabbed the clothing and made my way back to Alice's room. As soon as I entered, I was greeted with "Oh, that bra is so adorable. It does wonders for your cleavage."

"You do know I'm going to the movies right?"

"Yes. You told me this earlier. I'm not inept." She retorted.

"Than what is this?" I asked, shaking my clothes at her.

"That is a gorgeous outfit. You'll look great in it. Put it on." Alice insisted.

"Alice! I'm going to be in a movie theatre. I can't walk in wearing this."

"Sure you could. And if it would bother you that much, you could always request a drive-in movie." Alice said with a wink.

"That might actually be nice. That way we get to see a movie but just hang out together at the same time."

Alice nodded solemnly. "I'm truely a genius. It's a gift, and a curse. Just don't give him the wrong idea."

"I won't." I said slipping on the outfit.

The skirt fit nice and wasn't even that short. The top looked even greater. Or..It would If my skin was back to it's pale color and not the horrid red. But I still looked nice. And Alice even gave me reign of picking out the shoes. I picked out a pair of flats that matched my shirt.

I was still in my room when I heard the front door open. Tanya must have let Edward in.

I heard a pair of foot steps near the hallway leading toward my door. I was still doing a couple last minute things. I rubbed some lotion on my legs and swiped some of the gloss on my lips.

"Bella, Edward's out here when you're ready." She called as she began to walk away.

I slipped on my shoes and began talking as I opened the door. "Would you like to go to a drive-in later on instead?" I offered as I pulled the door open.

I looked up at Edward. He looked great, as always. I missed his emerald eyes and unruly bronze hair. His emerald eyes were looking somewhere else though. I watched as they went down from my face, over my shirt, and stopped at my exposed thighs. I could see his adams apple bob as he swallowed. His eyes flew back up to my face and there was deffinitely something different about the way he was looking at me right now. He opened his mouth to speak, before closing it again. The second time he opened his mouth, I detected a very quiet "Sure."

_Just don't give him the wrong idea_, Alices words rung through my head.

And as he led me to his car, I realized it was easier said than done.


	29. Movie

Sorry, guys! I know it's been a while! Thanks to all for reviews! You sure know how to make a girl smile!!

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_And as he led me to his car, I realized it was easier said than done._

I slid into the passenger seat of Edward's volvo. As I looked down at my legs, my skirt seemed impossibly shorter than it did earlier. _It's probably cause you're sitting down Bella,_ I told myself. And the blue top showed a lot of my back.... _Stop over thinking everything!_

Edward turned his body sideways from the wheel to give me a dazzling smile. I did my best to smile sincerely back, but I probably looked sick due to my stomach doing backflips. Edward put his arm behind my headrest and looked out the back so he could pull out. Once he pulled out of the parking place, we were on our way.

"Glad to be back?" Edward asked, glancing sideways at me- or should I say at my exposed legs.

"Yeah." I mumbled.

"That's good. I'm glad you're back, too." Edward stated, and reached down to lace his fingers through my hand. I smiled and gave his hand a little squeeze, which he returned with a squeeze of his own and a chuckle. The rest of the ride to the movie theatre was completed in comfortable silence.

I didn't pay attention to the movie Edward chose and, in no time, we were slowly drifting forward in front of a large screen. He parked the car so the back was facing the screen. We were far away enough from the other cars, but close enough that I could still make out a few fogged windows. I blushed. Probably not the best choice. Besides, Edward is a gentleman. It would be fine.

Edward got out of the front and opened the back of the car. He pressed a button and pushed and the backseats went down to make a flat surface, and layed down a fluffy blanket and a few pillows. I gulped. Edward gestured for me to come around and hop in the back. Edward went back around the front and turned on the designated station that the movie would play through the car on. I opened the door and got in the back. I kept my legs straight in front of me, and didn't bother kicking off my shoes. Instead of just sitting on the blanket, I pulled it on top of me to cover myself. I sighed aloud. This wasn't the first time Alice's choices in clothes may or may not be getting me in trouble.

Edward opened the door and got into the back with me. I swear my heart stopped when he slid under the covers next to me. I probably would have been better off just sitting on top of it. Edward leaned back into a laying position with his head resting on a pillow and began to pull me gently down too. _Oh god, oh god, oh god!_ I chanted in my head. My chant subsided when my head hit something firm- Edward's chest. The calming effect he had on me was almost instantaneous, and I put my arm over to lay on his chest next to my face. Edward pulled me closer into him. One of his arms was underneath my shoulders and the other was draped over my waist.

All this worrying for nothing. I closed my eyes for a little while and took a deep breath. Edward was always good smelling. I could see the screen from where I was, but I didn't really bother to watch any of it. I was too busy basking in Edward's company. We stayed like that for a little while.

Edward's hand on my waist moved back and forth on my hip before moving a bit lower, towards the waist of my skirt. His hand stopped right where the denim started, and his fingers moved around in a circle. It was driving me absolutely mad. I began to move my fingers near my face along his chest. I felt Edward place some small kisses on the top of my head. I leaned my head back a little to give him a small kiss on the lips.

I began to pull back, but Edward leaned in closer to give me a small kiss. And then another. And then another. Soon enough, what started as small, chaste kisses turned into longer, lingering ones. I felt Edward's hands lock around my waist and hoisted me up onto him. If I was giving him the wrong idea now, I didn't really care.

One of his hands was draped around my back and his other ventured up to my hair, bringing me closer to his kisses. I felt his tongue against my bottom lip, and I opened my mouth a bit, granting him entrance. I almost forgot how good a kisser Edward was. Well, not quite. I'd been waiting to finally get to kiss him again, no strings attached. I couldn't forget the kiss we shared in his office. Was it only two weeks ago?

His lips loved from mine and went to my neck, kissing and nibbling his way down to my collar bone. My eyes rolled back into my head. He made his way from my collar back up the side of my neck towards my ear. When Edward's tongue traced the shell of my ear, I let out a tiny moan. As if it was a trigger or something, I found myself on my back with Edward on top of me. He brought his lips back to mine, and gently sucked on my bottom lip. I stopped kissing him to move my lips down his neck. One of his hands moved down my side to my thigh. His hand began to move up my leg, slowly. I felt his fingers reach the hem of my skirt and I froze. As soon as I froze, his hand disappeared and Edward pushed up off me and sat down next to me.

We were both breaving heavily and I pushed myself up to sit next to him.

"I'm sorry." Edward apologized.

"No, don't worry about it." _Besides, it wasn't like I hadn't enjoyed myself._

"I am. I got carried away."

"It's fine. I did too." I insisted.

Edward reached over and put an arm around me, pulling me closer. "Now what?" he asked.

"I'd say watch the rest of the movie, but since we missed the majority of it, I'd say it would be a moot point."

"Should I just take you home?"

That was a good question. To be honest, I didn't really want to go home. But being around him any longer seemed like a bad idea. It was technically our first actual date, and we were both getting a little carried away. Things needed to go slower. A lot slower. And Alice needed to stop shoving skirts at me. Home sounded like the best idea at this point.

"I guess so. Maybe we can do something tomorrow?" I offered.

"That would be great." He said, and opened the door for us to get out. Edward put the seats back up and the blanket and pillows away. Edward got into the front and we drove off towards home.


	30. Best

Edward leaned over to give me a chaste kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight" He whispered.

When he began to pull away, I reached forward and gave him a small kiss on the lips. Yeah, I wanted things to go slower than they were, but that didn't mean we couldn't kiss eachother. "Goodnight." I told him with a slight smile as I got out of the car before Edward could make his way over to my door.

"I'll call you tomorrow!" I called as I opened the door to get into my apartment building.

Of course, when I opened the door, Alice was awaiting. She was practically bouncing out of her skin. Her eyes lit up when she asked me how it went. As per usual, I replayed what happened to her in great detail. I blamed the entire misunderstanding on her. Her eyes practically bugged out of her skull.

"No, Bella. The misunderstanding was not my fault. I simply dressed you to impress. Remember, you were the one that suggested a drive in movie. You don't need to be a scientist to figure out how things normally go when at one of those places. Didn't you see the windows of all the cars around you?" She asked, tapping her foot expectantly.

"Yes.." I mumbled

"And....?" She asked, her little foot tapping faster.

"They were fogged up."

"Bingo!" She exclaimed. "That's pretty much all drive in movies are good for, running bases in the backseat. So you take it back!"

"Take what back?" Now, she was just confusing me.

"It was not my fault. Say it." She glared at me expectantly.

"Sorry, Alice. It was not your fault."

"Great!" Alice was back to her happy self in the blink of an eye. Sometimes her mood swings gave me whiplash. "Let's watch a movie." She suggested.

I groaned, "No, thanks."

"Oh, alright. Then what do you want to do?" She asked

"It's kind of late, if you hadn't noticed. And I've had a long day. I might just head to bed. Maybe, the sunburn will be gone...or atleast lighter, when we wake up."

Alice perked up when she heard the bit about sunburn disappearing. "That's a great idea!" She exclaimed.

Alice went to her room, and I went to mine.

I woke up with the bad luck of my sunburn still as red as the night before. If Alice's hadn't faded, I was sure to get lectured of the "harm caused when rasing one's hopes" or something like that.

But to my great surprise, Alice's sunburn was lighter and Tanya's was pretty much gone. "What is this?" I asked gesturing to their sking, and then to mine.

Alice just shrugged. Tanya blushed a little, and I raised a brow at her accusingly.

"Well, remember how we heard that taking a bath in milk would help the sunburn?" Tanya asked.

Alices face was one of pure horror as Tanya continued her explanation.

"When both of you guys were asleep last night, I filled the tub up with some milk and took a long bath. And although it was gross, it was worth it." She said, looking at her skin.

Alice made a slight gagging sound. Despite the healing effects it seemed to have on the sunburn, Alice wouldn't be caught dead bathing in milk. Me, however....

"I think I'm going to try it." I told them.

Tanya nodded her head encouragingly while Alice begged me not to.

I just grabbed my frappacino on the counter and made my way into my room.

I picked up my phone and dialed Edward's number.

"Hello?" Edward grumbled into the phone.

"Hey."

"Good morning, Bella." Edward said, sounding drowsy.

"Did I wake you up?"

"Yeah, it's fine though."

I always feel really bad for waking people up in the morning. "I'll just call you later, go back to sleep." I told him.

"No, It's fine. I'm awake now anyways." Edward said, and indeed he did sound awake now.

"So what would you liked to do today?" I asked.

"Doesn't matter to me, as long as I'm with you." My heart stuttered a little.

"Do you just want to hang out? We can order some pizza and just sit around." I inquired.

"Sounds fine to me. What time should I pick you up?"

"Whenever's good for you."

"How about in an hour?" Edward asked.

That was plenty of time for me. "That would be great."

"See you soon then."

"Bye, Edward."

I hung up the phone and went to my room to get changed. I didn't need to get all done up for hanging out and eating pizza. I slipped on a pair of comfy jeans and a dark blue, fitted, long sleeved t-shirt. My hair wasn't too unmanagable today, so I left it down. I put on a little mascara and slid some chapstick into my pocket.

When I relized that getting ready only took about 10 minutes, I opened a book and began reading.

I must have gotten absorbed in the book because the next thing I knew, someone was knocking at the door. I rushed around doing last minute things like putting on my shoes and grabbing my purse.

I went through the living room to get to the front door and leave, ignoring Alice's angry glare for not informing her about the date. The last thing I needed was her to dress me up like last time, considering how that went.

I opened the door and smiled seeing the familiar bronze hair, green eyes, and beautiful face that was Edward. He grabbed my hand and we left my apartment for his house.

The ride there was pretty uneventful. There was little discussion. We just sat, enjoying one another's company.

We got out of the car and went up to his place. Edward opened the front door and flicked on the lights. I made my way over to the large sofa in front of the tv. Edward picked up the phone and brought it over. He sat down and began dialing a number.

"What do you like on you're pizza?" He asked.

"Anythings fine. Just no anchovies." I could never understand who decided to put those little, gross fish on such a tastey delicacy.

He nodded and proceeded to order a large pizza with everything, except anchovies, on it.

When he got off the phone, he reached over, pulling me into him. He tightened his arm around me and we just talked.

We talked about anything, and everything. When I'd tell him an ebrassing story, he'd laugh but he'd counter it with an even more embarassing story of his own, making me try in vain to supress giggles. He told me more about his family, and I told him more about mine. We talked about our past, and the future.

In the middle of it all, I had quite the revelation. I loved Edward Cullen. It was as simple, and true as that. And I wasn't freaking out about it. In fact, I felt calm. It wasn't one of those mind-blowing epiphanies. It was as if I was always aware of it, I just hadn't admitted it to myself. The only thing I didn't know, was if he loved me too. I could, but I wasn't going to obsess over it. I hadn't known him for that long, had it only been a month or two? But I was completely sure. And I decided that before the day was over, I was going to tell him how I felt. If he didn't feel the same way... I don't know, But I wasn't going to think about that now.

I tried to calm down my palpitating heart when Edward got up to answer the door. I smelled the pizza as soon as the door opened and I got up from the couch to grab a slice. Edward grabbed two plates and two glasses from the cupboard. I took the plate and grabbed a piece of pizza.

"What would you like to drink?" Edward asked

I scoped out the fridge and decided on a coke. Edward picked the same.

We sat at the couch and ate in silence, me racking my brain on how to start the inevitable conversation.

_"I know we haven't known eachother long, but I love you." _Corny.

_"I love you....r hair! It's so shiny.."_ Hm. That could work if I chicken out last minute.

I was jolted from my ponderings when Edward asked if I wanted to watch a movie. I nodded, and he got up to put something in the dvd player. I waited for him to come sit back down and snuggled close, laying my head on his shoulder. I must have dosed off during the movie. I was awoken by Edward trying to get more comfortable on the couch.

"Sorry," I apologized "I didn't realize I was so tired."

"It's fine." he assured. "You were talking in your sleep."

I froze. Oh god. What did I say this time? I turned keeping my gaze down. "Oh?" I asked, what I hoped was nonchalantly.

"Yeah. You said you loved me." He stated simply.

My heart stopped. Sure, I was planning on saying it, but not in my sleep!

I gave an uncomfortable laugh. "It's amazing what people say when they're unconscious." I mumbled.

He reached over and pulled my chin up, so my eyes met his. "Is it true?"

"Does it matter?" I asked.

"Yes, it does."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I love you." He whispered. His eyes full of sincerity.

I couldn't withhold my squeel of glee, as I pulled his face to mine for a kiss. He ended it abruptly, laughing. "I guess that means you love me too?"

"I do. I love you. I love you. I love you." Punctuating each sentence with a kiss.

Nothing could beat this moment as the happiest moment of my life.

* * *

Don't shoot!

I know it's been awhile, and I apologize. And, I have no excuse.

I mean, who likes excuses? Nobody. That's who.


End file.
